Forum costs and continuation?

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admin

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Hi everyone

As everyone who has been around for a while knows I have always wanted to keep the CVF ad free.
This has come at a continuing cost for me, which soon I will no longer be able to sustain.

I have been completely open in the past and continue to be:

Costs:
Hosting £48pm = £576
Forum software license = £68
Domain cost = £12
Total: £656

Income:
Regular monthly commits - eternally thankful to Panky, David, Colin and Barry! = £113.64 (paypal charge a fee for this)
One-off donations in the last 12 months = £60
Total: £173.64

This leaves me with a shortfall I have been covering of £482.36, (or £40.19 a month) I cannot continue to do this as I won't have another income by Easter.

So what is the future for us Commer Van Fans, especially those not on Facebook?
While a donation drive could keep us going, it is the monthly commitments which really help to keep things going.
Other forums have VIP sections or limited functionality to non-paying members but I don't want to put newbies off, and there isn't much to be gained in a VIP sections for our limited crew. They also have commercial sponsors, but as Commers are a dying breed there isn't really a candidate to help out here.
I am confident that I have a good deal on the hosting, so reducing costs isn't feasible.
I do not believe that adding in AdSense banners would bring in enough (and would be annoying to all!)

I am very much open to any and all suggestions here
 
I think the Forum whilst a bit clunky in terms of sharing photos is a great resource and Facebook whilst more immediate has limited search ability for finding information.

I’d be happy to commit to a monthly DD of £2-3 to keep things running. This about what I pay for membership of the Sunbeam Alpine Owners Club. But I’d prefer not to pay this to PayPal as I know they siphon off fees. I would also be happy to pay a ‘catch up’ payment as the level of debt you are managing is not reasonable.

I’ll wait and see what other users say.
 
It's easy to set up a monthly transfer on Paypal as that's what I do. A couple of ££ a month adds up to what most clubs would charge an annual fee for and is not missed. I too am happy to pay an extra 'catch up' to keep the forum running. The intelligent persons alternative to F Book.

For anyone who doesn't know how to donate:-

Forum

our forum is very active and helpful
www.commervanfan.co.uk www.commervanfan.co.uk
 
Completely understand. Please let us know what you think a reasonable monthly contribution would be to keep it on it's present form .
Thanks for all you do to keep it running.
 
I'm definitely in... More than happy to contribute... I get the return every time I try to turn my old boy on!! Perhaps we should sell Panky out as a consultant...
 
My fee is a couple of pounds a month to Admin. For as much misinformation and dodgy advise as you can take:)
 
Thank you to everyone who has chipped in and committed so far, warms the heart that this corner of the internet is still interesting and useful (and sometimes funny!)

Current monthly gap is £32

The donations are managed via paypal, but you don't have to have a paypal account and you can use a card.
www.paypal.com

Donate to John Field

Help support John Field by donating or sharing with your friends.
www.paypal.com www.paypal.com
 
I don't use Facebook so I would like to keep the forum as it is. I usually make a contribution at the beginning of the year when I renew my other classic car subscriptions. Hope this is ok to keep doing. If a monthly donation would work better I can switch to that Thanks for all the work that goes in to running the forum.
 
Set up monthly payment again, John, also added a one off donation to help. Thanks for your continued work keeping the forum up and running.
I haven't been using the forum as much as I used to and have let things slip. My apologies!
 
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I may not own a Commer, but I am a Commer Van Fan. The value of the forum cannot be understated, it is a valuable resource with information at your fingertips. Trying to find information on a Facebook forum is a bit like trying to find a specific drop of water in a bath. You know it is there, but you cannot identify it. Besides, it is not restricted to Commers, it has provided me with valuable information and encouragement for my renaultvation.
 
I have found cvf has been fantastic and there is no reason for you to foot the bill for the sake of others so more than happy to continue to pay my way as I’m sure many will. Thank you and may it continue :)
 
Have chipped in monthly. Facebook is good, but the knowledge/info gets spread out thinly over multiple pages etc. Forums are a much easier way to find out info, saxperience is/was a great reference for Saxo/106/ax info, but its so little used today (and regularly offline) that I’m probably in 10 different Facebook groups to try and get the same info…
 
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