Have you considered grants for the arts ?

[Blacksad]

Hi,

Executive summary :

Have you considered applying for a grant for the arts ?

Short explanation :

ENworld is a pen and paper role playing game community website.
It helps communication between player (reader/art amateur), publisher, writer and artist.

And many feel it does well in that domain :
http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...91-appeal-support-en-world-8.html#post4975251
http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...91-appeal-support-en-world-6.html#post4953113
http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...91-appeal-support-en-world-6.html#post4951040
http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...91-appeal-support-en-world-5.html#post4947055
http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...91-appeal-support-en-world-5.html#post4946690
http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...91-appeal-support-en-world-4.html#post4946513
http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...91-appeal-support-en-world-2.html#post4944987
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/265691-appeal-support-en-world.html#post4943795

Given its size, it needs a permanent position.
Attempts to get a revenue streams have led it to become a sort of publisher (with partnerships, ads, etc.).
Getting things in reverse (community -> books) compared to a traditional publisher "books -> community".

This might have incited Moongose and Paizo to have their own board, splitting communities, and might explains concerns (any guesses?) :
http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...91-appeal-support-en-world-6.html#post4947881
http://www.enworld.org/forum/meta/265653-new-ad-bar-4.html#post4957643

The subscription model is a good move.
ENworld as a non profit organisation with Morrus as a paid trustee (i.e. not a charity) could solve those concerns, and allow ENworld to apply for a grants from the Arts Council.

Getting Testimonial from :
Mongoose (especially with Judge Dredd)
UK writer and artist who got contracts with US or UK companies
UK players who found fellow players through the website
Might help advance the cause (explaining that a global community help the UK, yada, yada)


Thoughts ?

Regards

 

[Morrus]

Well, the "non profit" part is an issue, as I'd quite like to make a profit!

 

[jaerdaph]

Well, the "non profit" part is an issue, as I'd quite like to make a profit!

Out of curiosity, have you considered changing the URL to a dot com (enworld.com), as dot orgs are usually reserved for non-profit organizations (and most users assume that as well)?

 

[darjr]

Out of curiosity, have you considered changing the URL to a dot com (enworld.com), as dot orgs are usually reserved for non-profit organizations (and most users assume that as well)?

I'm not so sure that is true anymore. I mean, Slashdot?

 

[Morrus]

Out of curiosity, have you considered changing the URL to a dot com (enworld.com), as dot orgs are usually reserved for non-profit organizations (and most users assume that as well)?

I don't think there's any distinction these days. Plus in that case it would be enworld.co.uk, not enworld.com.

Last I checked someone owned enworld.com. Looks like nobody has it right now; might be worth snapping up and directing it here also. It would cause havoc with cookies and stuff, though, and I've heard that multiple domains adversely affects Google listings.

 

[jaerdaph]

Yeah, its original meaning probably has been diluted over the last few years.

My only concern (for you) is the perceived implication that a dot org (specifically, enworld.org) *is* a nonprofit organization when there are "appeals" to "support EN World", which sound like calls for support that are typically associated with traditional nonprofit organizations.
Personally, I always thought until I read your comment above tonight that EN World was a nonprofit, with you as it's "Executive Director" drawing a salary as part of the administrative overhead (and, having worked for and managed nonprofit organizations myself, certainly think that is fair and the way it should be and have no problem with this), and at the end of the day, the goal was to meet EN World's operating costs (and if it creates a few jobs along the way, nothing wrong with that either). But now you are saying this is more of a business for profit (and I have absolutely no problem with that either - I think it's pretty cool, actually). Anyhow, getting to my point, I'm concerned you could be unintentionally setting yourself up for charges of fraud, and I'd hate to see that happen.

Just something to think about and hopefully avert any unexpected legal tangles.



Edit: Oh, and the reason I was checking in on this thread was to see if you were going to need a grant writer - I've written many successful grants over the years and have raised over $30 million dollars in funding for nonprofit organizations. Now that I'm retired, I was going to offer my services at a reduced rate.

 

[darjr]

I do agree with you about your point, it's a good one. (about the .org vs. the .com)

Morrus, I don't really think that google has a problem with it unless your spamming a ton of domains, but I do think the concern isn't entirely unwarrented.

I've setup redirects for sites concerned with this duplicate site 'issue'. So if you are and you get the .com there are ways to fix it. Google even says how.

 

[Blacksad]

Well, ENworld could make a profit, and you would get a decent salary

More seriously, I'll second the concerns of jaerdaph.

With user contributed content in the wiki and review section with the mention "Site Contents © 2008 ENWorld" [1], donations, and the use of Eric Noah initials, a personal venture seems like opening a huge can of worms.


[1] This kind of situation led to some ill will toward imdb, or the switch from cddb to freedb

 

[Cergorach]

Well, the "non profit" part is an issue, as I'd quite like to make a profit!

There's a difference between a profit and a decent salary for the work you provide for the site. A lot of folks that work for non-profits get paid a salary, so it should be possible to make ENworld a non-profit and get a salary. I don't know the details for UK requirements, but it might be worth looking into.

To be honest, I think you might have a better chance getting a fully paid position through grants then through subscriptions and advertisements.

 

[wedgeski]

Anyhow, getting to my point, I'm concerned you could be unintentionally setting yourself up for charges of fraud, and I'd hate to see that happen.

AFAIK top-level domains aren't enforced in such a fashion, so there's nothing to worry about.