Today is friday the 5th of january 2018 - and as those observing this thread will probably have noticed,
the end-of-2017 support rally (including my video address on the wikiloops homepage, the screen displayed directly after log-in and the frequent support shouts in the shoutbox) has ended as we've rolled over into 2018.
This year,
258 members of wikiloops managed to fund 43% (15k US-$) of the needed budget for 2018 within two months of rally -
leaving us with a "gap" of roundabout $ 19.800,
which wikiloops needs to bridge somehow within the next 10 months (mind, the whole cycle starts over on november 1st for 2019).
Put in perspective, that means
it takes 198 individuals who can afford to give $ 100 before October comes, and who'd of course get a year of full premium status in return. You can do the math any way you want, and reach your own conclusion if that is likely or not.
It is my intention to keep this post short -
but at the same time I know that it is up to me to deliver another "put in perspective" statement on the above result.
Maybe one fact that (especially our new members) should be reminded of is this:
wikiloops has been in the very same situation last year -
we crossed the years line at a mere 20-something percent of the desired budget,
and the following discussion is still available in this forum.
Please do notice that
wikiloops is online and kicking,
and that we are about to reach the 100.000 tracks in the public wiki mark within the next few days.
How is that possible?
Because there is people like you who care enough to help keep the project going,
some who can afford to "double up", and a small group of people who do a lot of work for free if it helps keep wikiloops going.
I will include the funding status bar started on november 1st 2017 here for you to check in the future,
and I will be issuing the annual wikiloops transparency report within the next few weeks,
which shall offer some more detailed insight in the projects evolvement and give some perspective on what is coming up in 2018.
For the time being, let me end by once more thanking all the supporters,
it would not work without folks like you.
The supporters may be a small group,
but on the other hand one can take that as a signal how large each supporters individual impact is.
wikiloops has a lot to offer to a lot of people, and that can be kept up with the help of "only" a few hundred supporters.
I still feel the investment vs. fun return ratio of wikiloops is quite excellent - and I still have that vision that it is possible to operate a truly independent and technically up-to-date community for real musicians, if only a critical mass of supporters can be won.
As I mentioned before, we are by now all set up to welcome quite a lot of new people (re: my "empty seats on the wiki-bus" example),
so I guess we should
focus on getting the word out about wikiloops in 2018,
and on keeping it a place where new members are welcomed.
I'll keep you updated as we're rolling into the new year
thanks for the read & all the best
Richard