Topic: Whip Basics Shelter Campaign 2016
Hello, Whip Basics.
Last year, Robby and others coordinated an ultimately successful donation campaign for a dog shelter. The idea was to make this an annual thing, so that the voices who cannot ask for help would still be heard...and would still get that help. Well, we're getting on to about that time, now, and I have been asked to take up the mantle and begin the work again.
Last time, a trusted member was selected to organize a PayPal account and hold the donations, then post the receipt online for everyone to see. It was all very professional, and I think we can do that again here. Again, I think we can do a raffle.
The rules are simple: The minimum donation is $5US, which gets you a card in the hat. $10US gets you two cards, and so on. There is no maximum donation at this time. We will take sign-ups from WB members for prizes, like last time, so anyone who would like to sign up for that can do so. I will create a separate thread for raffle prize sign-ups. Remember: The more prizes that are donated, the more chances for any donating member to win!
A trusted third party will be tasked with holding the donations, just like last time. Whomever wishes to sign up for this responsibility must demonstrate a working knowledge of PayPal, and the ability to set up a dedicated account for processing the donations. Jonathen Lewis did that last time, and his thread can be found here: http://www.whip-basics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2584. If you wish to sign up for this responsibility, please PM me or Jessie.
I would prefer to keep the responsibility of drawing names separate from that of holding the donations. Whomever does draw the names should be willing to leave their name out of the hat, to avoid a conflict of interest. It is a sacrifice to ask this, I know, but one I think will help to protect the integrity of the process. If no volunteers are chosen by the deadline, I will draw names myself. Anyone wishing to volunteer for this responsibility should PM me, or Jessie.
Like last time, a three week deadline will be imposed for donations to the shelter campaign. Robby's original idea was to allow enough time that people could participate if they wanted to, but not to prolong the process any further than necessary. I would like to keep that standard going here. The three weeks will begin once the PayPal account is set up and functioning, and I will make an announcement here when that happens.
No one is "required" to participate, but this event was highly prized by Robby and by others, and deserves at least the respect of acknowledgement by WB members. Jessie and I can see who posts, and where, and we will be reminding people via email if they "haven't had the chance" to see this thread after a while. 
Also, please respect the campaign and its intent by honoring your commitment. If you agree to contribute a raffle prize, it is important that you fulfill that promise to the community. I don't need to remind the community of what happened last year. Please...if you promise to contribute to the raffle, be serious about doing it. Do not agree to do it if you are not 100% intent on keeping your word.
Overall, please remember that this is for the doggies, and who can say no to those lovable little puppy eyes? If you don't wish to participate, please pass on this information to someone else; friends, a family member, anyone who might wish to contribute. Too many of our furry friends end up on the street and, having been there myself, I can say it's no way to live. This money will help them to find loving homes.
When you do read this thread, please post a simple reply here which acknowledges you've read it.
ATTENTION: EDITED MATERIAL BELOW
So, after a while of discussing things with Jessie, we have settled on some new ideas for the raffle. I believe we're back to one drawing, but with one key difference: There will now be different donation levels for participants. I had considered the idea earlier, but worried that it would complicate things too much. After having had it suggested to me, and seeing how much support there was for the idea, I have stopped worrying about that.
Tickets will range from $5 to $50, with each donation level representing different raffle prize brackets. Naturally, the lower donation amounts will buy tickets for raffle prizes with a lower dollar value than higher donation amounts. It is the total amount of donations during the raffle which determines which hat your name will be drawn from, so multiple donations adding up to $50+ will still qualify you for the high-value raffle prizes.
Jessie has consulted with Robert Gage about his current situation, and the whole mess with the EU which is currently making life very interesting over there. There were concerns that the donations may lose value during conversion to other currencies, and it's just going to be unpredictable if we go that route. To that end, Stefan has agreed to be our new treasurer for this year's raffle.
Stefan, if that changes, please notify me via PM, so that we may select a new treasurer. Please also confirm your acceptance here, so that we're all on the same page, if you wouldn't mind.
Now...I know it's been a while since all of this got started, but I really want to lock everything down before I open up the donations. I need to know that everything is in place before money changes hands. I think we can wrap it up in a couple of days, if we try our best. At that point, donations will be open and Stefan will keep track of all the donations.
Raffle prize contributors: Please begin your work now. Even if it takes us a while to get all our ducks in a row, it won't hurt anything to have your contributions completed early. Forewarned is forarmed, and fortune favors the bold, etc, etc, etc.
Once again, I would like to thank everyone who is participating in this raffle for their contributions, and for their patience.
