Dude, like, OMG, where'd the "Donate" button go?

[Quyen]

I've looked all over The Nation and on my page, and I can't find it. Y'all accept checks, Monti and Kelli? Who do I make it out to, and where do I send it?

Thank you both for the great service you have provided to our profession at all levels. :)

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Well, we were getting very little donations so we figured why have it sit there and waste space.
last month we had 0 donations.. maybe 1, I cant remember.

Its all good though, really :)

[Kyung]

Okay. This will probably get me a kick in the head, but what the heck.

I think you should keep the donation button up. It's not a waste of space. You and Kelli put a lot of time and effort into this site.

I see dozens of agencies getting jobs filled through this site. They should be donating to The Nation, as well as reporters. I know it's a tough economy, but if we don't step up, then we might not have this wonderful resource, and I bet everybody would really miss it.

Thanks!!

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Quyen, I went ahead and posted a blog "Donations to 'The Nation,' and I posted it in the group "Court Reporting Agencies."
Hopefully Monti will put the button back :)

[Quyen]

No, Monti, it's not all good.

I think it's really sad ... and shameful that zero donations were given -- to the point that you've even removed the button. The "Donate" button is not a waste of space. As you said, thousands of jobs have been covered through CSRnation, which means tens of thousands of dollars have been made ... by hundreds of reporters, probably -- and CR firms.

To be perfectly honest, I have taken ONE job through this site, and it was a great job (though tough), and I was just recently paid for it. I would like to show my appreciation by donating, giving back some of what was given to me. That's what makes the world go round, and that's what makes the world a better place: give AND take.

Court reporting firms have had jobs covered within MINUTES, sometimes as little as TWO minutes, and I bet these are jobs that otherwise would have been difficult to cover or the firms would have had to spend hours calling/e-mailing individual reporters to get the calendar covered.

And, reporters ... it's been a tough year economically for the entire country (the world, for that matter), let alone our profession, but I know there are many of us who have made a "couple" extra bucks thanks to picking up jobs from teh "cover depos" feature of this site -- money we otherwise never would have made but for this great service that we've been provided by Monti and Kelli.

Guys, Monti and Kelli have had the brilliant idea of creating this fantastic site for all of us to use and enjoy. Many of us have found this site to be a great place for resources, opinions, a place to sell/find our junk, banter, debate, you name it. Some of us have connected with old friends and/or made new friends through here. Monti and Kelli have devoted countless hours to this site to make it the great place that it is, and they have never asked for anything in return.

If CR firms that have gotten jobs covered through here AND reporters who have accepted those jobs just donated a mere $5 or $10 for each job, a little would sure add up to a lot.

Just something to think about ...

Monti, please reconsider putting the button back -- or at least tell me who to make the check out to and where to send it.

Thanks.

[Michels Court Reporters]

I agree completely.

Monti, please put the donations button back. :-)

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Thats very sweet guys, But the donation button is more of a headache than its worth.
last month i think we got 20-30 dollars? before that i think either $0 or $5 and this month till you guys mentioned it it was a big $0.
kelli was getting very aggravated every time she sees jobs get covered in minutes but donations never come, so she started sending agencies messages like "WHY DON'T YOU DONATE??" or "NONE OF THIS IS FREE, YOU EVER THINK OF CLICKING THE DONATE BUTTON??", agencies were calling me worried that kelli was going to break their down their doors in the middle of the night, lol!

Dont mess with kelli, if she thinks she is right she will fight till the end.. and she says it as she sees it, no sugar coating anything with this women.

if we got $5 for each job we helped cover, this site would have had some new great and much needed features.
the reason i went awol last month is because i caught myself putting 20-30 hours a week (around 30-60 emails of questions a day).. I was like, oh my god!!
The thing is, we cant enhance this site for you guys with no money.

a better option for CSRnation as a community is a pay to use system? $5 for a job you cover? or $29.00 a year per member with a free option if you just want to use the forum but not the "cover depo" feature?
I am not sure what will work.. but we have to find something very soon.

if we can get some money we can really build this place up, add more "cover depo" groups, advertise better to get more agencies (you get more work).. etc
make an interactive map so agencies can just click on a California map to find groups with in it instead of searching through pages.

we NEED a recommendation system, we have many good ideas but again, it takes lots and lots of work.

Monti

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Monti,

if you aren't crazy about the Donate button, do you or Kelli have a P.O. box so we can mail a check? I think the suggestion of your small membership fee is a good idea, too. I've not used the Cover Depo service, but I agree with Quyen, many of us have made new friends, enjoy and learn from the discussions on the forum, and we reporters have a place to go where we understand what the other guy/gal is going thru.

Since you aren't sure what you're going to do yet, may I suggest you post a Donations box on the main page and when it's double-clicked there will be a name and address listed so we can mail checks now?

April

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Hello April,

You guys are too nice! all of youz.
I will put the paypal back up sometime tonight.

would that work?

thanks.

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Yes. Thank You!!!

We really want to give back. It's kind of like church: you know you should give but you get a great reminder every Sunday when they pass the baskets around :)

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

alright!
its back up.

PLEASE do NOT over donate... I had members donate $100 in the past.
That doesn't sit well with me because 99.99% of people that use "cover depo" feature do not donate, and it feels like they are trying to donate for them.

thanks!

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Oops. Oh well . . .