On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 09:04, Sebastian Moleski <seb...@gmail.com> wrote: > Yes, I can see how the Christmas "giving spirit" would increase the >> potential donations. If that is the reason why it's run in December, why >> don't we investigate how donations to WM could be given as a present to a >> friend/relative. I know a lot of charities offer "gifts" where what you >> personally receive is a certificate to give as a present to your relative, >> but the money is actually going to the charity for a nominated purpose. For >> example: http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/Product.php?productid=94 Could >> donating to WM somehow be made into a christmas present? I believe we've >> previously talked about saying things like "donating $30 will run your >> language's Wikipedia for 'x' minutes" - perhaps we could turn that into a >> certificate kind of thing? (so long as it was made clear that this was >> nominal, rather than making a false promise that your donation would be >> spent at a precise moment in time). >> > > I think that's an excellent idea :)
So do I. I think the 10th birthday is definitely something we want to include as a prominent topic in a "fundraising summit" to come. Planning early is indeed of the essence, especially when we want to take advantage of such events, which only happen once. > As for the tax-adjustment aspect, that may be the case for the US (and >> granted, that's where most of the money is being raised currently), but >> different countries have different periods - here in Australia for example >> the fiscal year is July-June. >> > > It's country-dependent. From what I know, personal income tax returns in > most European countries cover a Jan-Dec period. So the last few days of the > year are also the last chance for donations to be included in that return. > From a purely revenue-maximizing perspective, it makes sense to keep the > fundraiser in November/December. I think we might also want to try and adjust in a country-specific way for some languages. I know for example the Polish have their tax return (and their biggest fundraising opportunity) around April, while for example chapters-to-be such as India also have their fiscal year running to April. We might want to try and take into account those differences to plan accordingly. Delphine -- ~notafish NB. This gmail address is used for mailing lists. Personal emails will get lost. Intercultural musings: Ceci n'est pas une endive - http://blog.notanendive.org _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
