A request for donations & an explanation of what the GFP is about
At the Galactic Free Press, we like to explore new and different ways of doing things. We give everything away for free, we don't try to sell anything, we don't have ads, and we don't offer special services for only those who can afford them. We give freely, and we're supported by those who can give freely. We see this as part of the new paradigm.
Asking for donations is something we're not very fond of, but we've learned that if we don't specifically ask, we don't get very much. I know there's a few people who don't think we shouldn't be receiving donations at all, but our landlord doesn't give us a house for free nor does the local supermarket give us free food for being "spiritual" people. We have the same expenses as most people, as well as paying for a web site and a few other services related to that.
The Galactic Free Press is very much our job, and I don't mean that like it's a burden. We're happy to do it, it's our passion. We put around 12 hours or more of combined work each day into the site through writing articles, posting articles, reading articles, searching for new things to post, running our TinyChat room, answering questions (through email, tinychat, on our site, and on Facebook), providing technical support to our users, maintaining a website, and fighting against the near constant stream of spam we get since we've become fairly popular. Providing our website, as well as a network of support for people through other sites as well, is no small task. We do need help through donations or through active participation.
When I said we give freely, I meant it as more than just free access to our site. The articles we write ourselves are quite literally given away freely. We release all copyrights, which means they're in the public domain, and they belong to everybody now. You can do whatever you want with them, you could even put them into a book and sell them for your own personal profit.
So what happens if we don't make our donation goal? Who knows? We live in the moment, and we'll be okay. I'm not going to tell some pity-me story to try and extract donations from people. However, if we do need to find other ways to provide for ourselves, it will likely mean we're not able to put the same amount of energy into the Galactic Free Press anymore. We don't have any plans of shutting down the site or anything like that, but if we don't get enough support through donations, the amount of posts on the site, and the amount of help we're able to offer others, will likely drop.
We've noticed that in our society, lies are far more profitable than truth. Even within spiritual groups we've noticed that fantastical stories, predictions for the future, and complicated belief systems are often far more popular than simple truths. We probably would get more donations if we posted that sort of thing, but we feel that stuff is the last thing people need more of. We're more about radical personal evolution that can be done in this Moment, not waiting on something to happen in the future. The changes people expect will be a long time coming so long as people just expect them and wait for them. Change comes to those who actively create it.
Lastly, we're not living the high life, $3,000 a month to support 4 people is below what California considers the poverty level. We're certainly not doing this to get rich. We ask for only what we need, and for people to provide what they are able. We have many thousands of visitors each day, and we ask that instead of giving your extra money to Hollywood or some major corporation, that you consider giving it to a service dedicated to raising the Consciousness of everyone.
Link to today's newsletter: http://soundofheart.org/galacticfreepress/content/gfp-newsletter-3212014
