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Feedback on Donation Boxes


nmonkman

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Seems to me that this has been discussed before, but I could not find the thread.

5 Years ago, I bought my first controllers and that same year we put out a donation box. We thought hard on a charity,but ended up starting our own.

Hence, the Planet Monkman Christmas for Kids Program was developed. We bought presents for hundreds of kids and although it is rewarding, it also takes up alot of our time. However, time is not the real issue.

I am considering doing away with it. When we started out with just a few controllers it was not that bad, but now that we are getting over 300 channels money is becoming a problem as well as time.

I am thinking that MAYBE next year we will put out a gratuity box rather than a donation box. We will make it very clear on our website and during the show that these are, in fact, tips NOT donations.

We would use the money for controllers, cords, lights, etc. Whatever we dont use we will THEN donate a lump sum to a reputable charity.

I would like to get honest feedback from as many as possible before making this decision. Please let me know your thoughts on tips versus donations.

Thanks,

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I personally don't like the idea. As expensive and time consuming as it is, I wouldn't want somebody else to pay for my display, especially when the money could go for more noble causes. This is especially true given the grim news about the economy and employment that seems to make the daily headlines (heck, the money I've lost in my IRA and 457(:D could have bought a lot of extension cords :P ) Instead of taking donations and buying the presents yourself, why not just give it to Toys for Tots?

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Our display is a gift to our guest. I can't asked them to pay for it. 100% of our donation go to our charity, not our hobby. IMHO

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Well Monkman I hate to be on the same train but I have to agree with the others here.

I have WAY too much invested in my controllers and lights for sure as well.
I had a lady stop and chat while I was out setting things up and I was explaining how expensive it can get for everything but that I did it for the spirit of the season and the fun and enjoyment it provided for others.
She tried to convince me that I should accept money from folks around here (she knows that I am struggling right now really badly)for my work but I told her that anythng that people give me will go strickly towards a charity, not for me.
This is my "gift" to the people out there, not a way to make money or that I want anyone to pay me anything for doing this.

I would rather sell my stuff and go back to just a controller or two and a few lights before I will accept money for it.
But I will take any donations for charity that they want to give.
Just my feeling on it.

Bill

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I agree with the group on this one.

Also, I think I recall a thread regarding music licensing and how the need for licensing changes if money is changing hands in the form of tips/admission fees/etc (as opposed to donations). I could be incorrect on that, I'm sure I'll get corrected if I am.

Visiting a display with a tip jar would definitely not have me staying long..

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Ditto for me ,same thing happenned the other night as I was outside looking at my display some onlooker walked up and we were just talking when he wanted to shake my hand and offer me some cash,I said no thanks donate it to charity or put it in the next Salvation Army bucket when you walk by it.

Don't want to start collecting money for causes also as around here people talk before they know were the money is going don't need that .

Denis

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Guest Don Gillespie

Denis Chaput wrote:

Ditto for me ,same thing happenned the other night as I was outside looking at my display some onlooker walked up and we were just talking when he wanted to shake my hand and offer me some cash,I said no thanks donate it to charity or put it in the next Salvation Army bucket when you walk by it.




Well said I agree 100%
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Yep...I agree with everyone else...

this is MY hobby...why would I expect or want someone else to subsidize it...

that's the job of the government (unfortunatley) :D

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I'm gonna pile on. This is my first year, so I don't have all the experience and wisdom that some of the others provide, but I am in agreement.

This is our gift to anyone who wishes to come and receive it. Even in our first year (no donation box this year), we've had quite a number of people offer us money to help pay for the lights/electricity/whatever. As we've handed them their candy canes, we've happily refused them all, asking only that they think of our display throughout the season, invite their friends and family to come enjoy it as well, and hope that it puts a smile on their faces.

If money becomes an issue (heaven forbid), we'll cut back on the display to accommodate the shortfall.

That all said - it's your display. And your decision. You have to do what's right for your situation and for your visitors.

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Scott T wrote:

Our display is a gift to our guest. I can't asked them to pay for it. 100% of our donation go to our charity, not our hobby. IMHO


DITTO !!!!!
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I have to agree with the other guys here, I do the display for my family and the people of our very small town, I would not want to try to capitalise on the display, it's my hobby and if money gets to tight I will have to cut back, I have thought long and hard about the charity issue and one day when the economic climate gets better I will start to rase money for charity, but at the moment I think people have enough to worry about, and a family night out with the children with free entertainment (i.e. going round looking at the lights) is my gift to them.
But it's your display and ultimately your decision
:cool:

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In my situation I didnt do a charity the first 2 years I did my display and people were trying to give me money all the time, so I added the charity box to handle that situation. Donations this year have been OK at best compared to previous years.

I get the same people coming to my display every year, I hear from alot it has become a tradition. As its looking towards next year I wont be adding much to the display, economy the way it is. I think if i took up donations to add to the display as long as everyone knew thats what it was for I would get more donations than I am now.

The display is my gift to the community and I would never charge them to to watch it, but I think there are plenty of people who would gladly "donate" to see new and better things with the display.

So final answer is I dont see a problem with it.

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This is the first year I am collecting for a charity and I am blown away by the donations. In the announcement, I ask that, if they want to, and no one should feel obligated to, donate,then we would welcome any car change to be forwarded to St. Judes. I didn't want people to feel they had to donate. I have been receiving mostly $10 and $20 dollar bills and a couple $100. I never expected that. After 5 nights of shows, we have close to $1000. I don't think I would ever collect to pay for the show. It is a hobby and a joy to watch others enjoying. Yes, it is a costly hobby but so is golf or a drinking problem. Light shows leave me little time for either.

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I have not collected for charity yet; however, I agree with the others. I don't want anyone donating for me to put up the lights. When/if I can't afford it on my own, that will be the time to retire the display. I love doing it for the joy it brings to others, and I would not have that same joy if I knew others were helping to pay for it. Just not the same....

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First I would like to thank everyone for the honest and straight forward opinions. This is exactly what I was looking for and knew I could count on everyone here.

Second, the thoughts and opinions here are probably the same reason that we have refused in previous years to use the donation money for anything but charity. So it appears my ethics and morals have been in the right place all along.

I guess I will just have to realize that it may not be possible to expand EVERY year and just make the best of what I have.

Heck, I am running last years show because I was not able to complete all my sequences I wanted to as I was working on ones for everyone else.Nobody has even really noticed or commented on that.

If running our own charity is too time consuming, there are many others out there that are worthy.

Thanks again for the input and feel free to keep commenting.

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My show is pretty much the same as last year too. I hoped to add another controller and a lot more lights but then over the summer one of my cats got sick. That little adventure came to over $3,000; almost $2,100 for the hopitalization alone. Could have bought a lot of stuff for 3 grand. :] But people still get a lot of enjoyment out of it even if it isn't a significant improvement over last year.

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I agree with all the above. Christmas is the spirit of giving, I am doing my light show to give back to the community in which i live. I wouldnt think of charging or asking for "donations" for watching the lights. it defeats the whole spirit of Christmas. I like the Idea of refrencing the Salvation Army buckets though. While we are on the subject. I think charging for sequences also selling them on fleabay is totally wrong. We should be sharing and helping to make each others displays as great as possible. Thank you to those who have sent me free sequences, as this was my first year and I didn't get started till September, I wouldnt have made ith without your help. I did buy a few sequences, and frankly was dissapointed with what I got. The $80 would have been much better spent on lights, as the free sequences were easier to modify than adding all the needed data to a "pre-marked" sequence. I guess it is buyer beware on the paid sequences.:(
In closing, let's keep the Christ in Christmas, and the $$ out.

Bret

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Whoa! Wait a minute Dr. Brett

You went out looking for sequences to BUY yet you think it is wrong to sell them???
Let's be real clear here so as not to confuse the issue. You, independently and without direct solicitation from me, went to MY website. You ordered PREMARKED sequences instead of PRECREATED sequences. When you got one that actually had MORE than what you should have got, you expected them ALL to be that way.
If you wanted sequences from me that were pre-created and completed then WHY did you order the ones that are CLEARLY explained to have only marks???
Oh yes, let's not forget that even though you ordered them AFTER the sale was over, you still wanted the sale price.
What is this...share the wealth????
Do you live in a big white house???
What will you ever do once Obama gets voted out????

Dont jump in on my thread and ACT like you are responding to the current thread just to take a stab at my capitlistic venture and slam me from the back just because you expect everything to go your way for free. That is why we are in the shape we are in now.

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Wow, some one isn't in the spirit of Christmas! Sorry you feel that way Neil, just seems like you are the one trying to make a buck here. And is it wrong to expect the rest of the sequences to be the same as the first? I think not. As far as ordering the rest later, you still had the sale listed prominently on your website the day I ordered. I do not live in a big white house, I also do not appreciate being called Obama. I have been providing FREE medical services at our local FREE clinic for the last 6 years, as a way of paying back to our community, so don't go there buddy. I'M not the one advertising my store in my signature line.

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