Our May Pledge Drive: Why We Need Your Support

They say that Friday isn’t necessarily a good day to start an Indiegogo campaign. But Friday was the first of May and we wanted our fundraiser to be a May thing, so we started it late Friday afternoon anyway. Not long after it went live, Larry Cafiero mentioned it in his Friday “News in Review” column. Then on Saturday, we made our first “official” public announcement on the front page of FOSS Force. But our traffic is always down on weekends, so the news has been getting out slowly. By midday Monday, when this article is being written, less than a hundred of you have visited our Indiegogo campaign page. We’ve collected $50 in donations.

We’re seeking to raise $6,000 between now and the end of the month. The money is needed so we can expand our coverage and offer you, our readers, even more than we do now. You can read more about our plans for the money we raise on our Indiegogo campaign page. While you’re there, you can also check out the cool perks we’re offering to encourage your generosity.

$6,000 in thirty days means that we must average about $200 daily to meet our goal. That means that by about 6 pm today EST, we need to have raised $600 to be on track, so we have $550 to go. But that need is an average. We can make up for any shortfall later in the campaign.

However, there’s no denying that we’re off to a slow start. But we’re not discouraged. Over the weekend, you guys and gals have been off doing weekend things, like having fun with your families or shopping to keep the fridge full of groceries. Many of you will just be finding out about our pledge drive during the next day or two.

As you learn about our campaign, think of this: If each of you who visits our site regularly, who likes what we do on these virtual pages and thinks it would be a good thing for us to ramp up our coverage, were to go to our Indiegogo page and contribute a mere $10, we would easily surpass our goal. When that happens, we will use the money you so generously contribute to make FOSS Force, which is already important to you, even more vital to your interests as a supporter of free software and free tech.

Ask yourself this: What is it about FOSS Force that you like?

Many of you are avid readers of Ken Starks’ column, which appears every Tuesday on FOSS Force. You find his blue collar, everyday guy, common sense approach to Linux and free tech both endearing and refreshing. Many of you think, as we do, that he’s an American treasure and a personification of the heartbeat of the FOSS community. His column is fun to read, and many of you have told us that when you read him, it’s as if you’re visiting an old friend. He also inspires us to do things for others instead of always thinking about ourselves — a thought that needs repeating often in this materialistic world.

Ken does not get paid for the time he spends writing for us. He finds time when he can. With your support we will be able to compensate him for the work he does. This will be good for us, and for those who’s lives are enriched by his fun-to-read prose. With your support, we are hoping to be able to expand Ken’s column to twice weekly, which we think would be super.

Perhaps you appreciate Larry Cafiero’s well crafted prose. We know that many of you followed Larry to our site from his blogs, Larry the Free Software Guy and Larry the Crunchbang Guy. His work with SCALE and other Linux and open source conferences means that he’s well connected in FOSS circles, and having connections is key to the practice of journalism.

He also brings with him many years of experience as a newspaperman — going back to the 1970s. Over the years he’s worn all of the hats of the newsroom, from writer to journalist to editor. He knows how to read between the lines. And as he’s devoted to free software, he know what questions you want answered when covering a story.

Larry is a family man, with a wife and daughter to support. He donates what time he is able to FOSS Force, but putting beans on the table, keeping the mortgage paid, putting gas in the car and spending quality time with his family take priority. Your support will enable him to spend more time writing for us, which will result in better and more in-depth coverage.

At FOSS Force we never merely rewrite news from other sites. If we can’t bring new facts or insights to a story, we don’t cover it. Most of all, we like to bring you stories that aren’t being covered elsewhere at all. For example, during the past year we’ve told you about the Takoma Park Maryland Library, which has done great work increasing public awareness of Linux and open source software, we’ve reported on the $89 Ubunto desktop, the Symple PC, and took one on a test drive, we’ve told you about efforts in India to design the first fonts for languages spoken by millions, we’ve covered many of the most important Linux and open source conferences with boots on the ground and more.

Please help us grow with your contribution.