The banjo neck filling up is fine for a one-time fund-raising effort, but each month, the operating costs for that month need to be subtracted, to reflect the fact that the Mudcat operating funds need continual replenishment.

One site I visit occasionally has an interesting concept; it keeps a running tab of how much it costs to run the site against how much has been collected in the past week/month/whatever period. You can see this at the opening page of http://www.virtualcantor.com/, where there's a section called "Finances:"

"Utilization of the Virtual Cantor has grown tremendously. The costs for equipment and hosting continue to mount. In the spirit of transparency, a cumulative sum is now shown below along with the visit counter of unique individuals who have visited the Virtual Cantor site. If you have found value in the site, please consider making a donation to help defray the ongoing costs. The balance will be updated weekly.

Blessings of peace, health and happiness to all."

Offered as food for thought in terms of conceiving fund raising as a long-term continual effort, rather than a sporadic burst of energy.

--Charlie Baum