Subj: HerpDigest Status Report
Date: 11/21/03 8:22:13 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
There is good news and there is bad news.
The good news is that HerpDigest will continue publication this weekend. The bad news is to get it back on-line; HerpDigest is now in the red. And this is not the first nor will it be the last time.
Which means I have to make some pretty hard choices by February.
BUT THESE ARE CHOICES YOU CAN HELP ME MAKE.
1) Can HerpDigest continue, as is, free.
2) Will readers have to start subscribing to get weekly copies of the HerpDigest newsletter, and access to its other services such as free PDF files of major reports, important papers, delivered to your email box and free use of the archives.
3) Or does HerpDigest just fold?
HerpDigest was created to keep herpetologists, conservationists, breeders, and all lovers of herps up-to-date on the latest conservation and science news on reptiles and amphibians by using the netâs abilities to get necessary information out there quickly and free.
But as they say, âNothing in life is free.â Software programs and computers break down and have to be replaced, upgraded or fixed. Net service providers have to be paid (I use a cable modem, since I could never do what I need to do on a 56K telephone line). Increasingly the information that was once free, you have to pay just to be notified it exists, let alone read it. And more.
So what do I base my decision on?
Itâs simple.
I have to raise money now, much more than I have in the past. And then develop a series of programs, projects, partnerships, and sales that will keep a steady flow of cash going to HerpDigest through the entire year so you donât have to read a letter like this again.
Foundations? I have approached them, and will continue to, but as a relatively new organization itâs hard to break in, to gain their trust the money will be well used.
Conservation organizations? They ask for money, they donât give it away. And if they are interested they want editorial control over HerpDigest. Which is not for sale. Ever. (One note though worth mentioning, the amateur herpetological associations have been most consistent with their donations. Donations though small compared to what the larger ones can give, are larger in terms of the percentage of their budgets.)
But what can you do?
Take me up on the various sales I offer: the recent stamp sale, (They are in the mail and I have nine sets left, contact me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] if interested.) buy bumper stickers (weâve just designed a new line that you can see on herparts.com http://www.herparts.com/Products/Products.asp?CategoryID=101 )
buy calendars http://www.herpdigest.org/donate/
books (our book which now comes in hard and soft cover and if you buy in volume at wholesale prices, a price list was published at the bottom on the past few issues of HerpDigest), and justlook at HerpArts.com for holiday gifts. (www.herparts.com),
And of course, donât be afraid to make a straight donation. (See how below).
So help. Everyone keeps telling me how important HerpDigest is to the Herpetological community. Itâs time to show how much. If every subscriber just sent in the cost of one Starbuckâs coffee, HerpDigest could not only remain free, HerpDigest could become more efficient, timely, finally add all those new services weâve dreamed about.
To help is easy.
For the holidays you need herp greeting cards? Want one with a Santa Toad or Turtle, a Turtle or Frog Menorah on it? Go to http://www.herparts.com/Products/Products.asp?CategoryID=94 for xmas cards
http://www.herparts.com/Products/Products.asp?CategoryID=93 for Hanukah cards
Or what about such gifts as Herp jewelry, copies of antique prints and contemporary photos, as well as a whole new line of bumper stickers with snakes, lizards and turtles on them. Just go to HerpArts.com (www.herparts.com) and shop.
Some people think itâs unseemly to openly ask for money. Well if this doesnât work, I might really be unseemly by going into detail about how bad this year really was. Iâve already scanned in some of the x-rays.
Thanks for your time. I hope we will have more together.
Allen Salzberg
Publisher/Editor
HerpDigest
P.S. Feel free to pass this on to whomever you feel might be interested in helping. Yes even post it on mailing lists, listservs and forums.
To make a donation to HerpDigest by check make it out to HerpDigest and mail it to: HerpDigest, c/o Allen Salzberg, 67-87 Booth Street -5B, Forest Hills, NY 11375.You can use PayPal https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=asalzberg%40herpdigest.org
Or Master or Visa card, just send us your card number and expiration date.
