We could also distinguish between 'teaspoon', 'tablespoon' and 'scoop' sponsors.
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We need a ‘ bucket’ sponsor 
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As a little push to open the wallet a bit more?
I am not sure, if I wanted that. Some people want to give, but are not able to give a lot. To say "Thanks for giving, but it was a bit less" is not the way I wanted to be treated.
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I would not want a sponsor tag for me if I would donate something. It would make class community, not inclusive community. I don't care if you have a sponsor tag or not if you contribute to content and help people. If there would be a tag then it might affect to assessing the content in irrelevant way.
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Off topic: This is a pretty cool conversation showing quite different perspectives. I learn from this thread.
Fair enough. Personally, I don't need a 'this is a generous guy' sticker. However, other people may appreciate it.
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I concur @villegld
We are not sponsoring for any other reason than being long term FileMaker evangelists and wanted to be part of something that retained the camaraderie that was evident in the original FileMaker Community website. I believe this site complements the current official forum nicely.
Inclusivity and friendliness are highest priority for us.
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This is a difficult area. The spirit of the community is a desire to share in a free resource, but providing the resource involves a cost, both financial and in the time spent setting it up, running it etc. My experience with FMBug, which was fortunate enough to attract a couple of involved sponsors to cover costs and provide resources, is that people are willing to support resources like FMSoup because we get far more value out than we put in and we recognise and appreciate the effort put in by those providing it. So in general I agree with Christian and Andy - sponsorship of whatever you want to give is the way to go, using an existing facility so the process is easy for those donating, a thank you is automatically given, the donation has the proper tax documentation etc. Suggested amounts are fine to give people a guide, but they should be free to choose their own amount too.
I would not go for flagging sponsors though; I don't believe it would encourage sponsorship except for reasons of ego, which would be wrong. It may even discourage donations if people see a lot of sponsors marked as they may assume enough has been donated already. I think those that are willing will donate without a carrot. Acknowledgement for those who have supported can be given in a thread if people really want that. Personally, I don't mind an annual no pressure reminder, but better still if it can be set up as an annual contribution.
The only hierarchy that should exist for every day interaction is one based on knowledge and contribution levels. If you want voting rights for some members etc, handle that some other way; don't tie it to sponsorship - that reeks of buying your way in and isn't, so far as I have seen, the ethos of the Soup.
You have created something amazing Cecile. Don't lack confidence in it - this thread should show you that enough people will support it to keep it running.
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@Code-J
Good point! Before your post I could imagine a sponsor tag. But your arguments convinced me.
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Forgive me to make fun out of this but imagine me, working late and night (@Fred knows what I'm talking about) and this thread pops up like a Tamagotchi constantly begging for attention. You win. Take another $100.- of mine 
OK, seriously. My thoughts:
Keep it as simple as possible, no membership fee. Keep the members in the loop about state of financing so everybody can see at a glance when money is needed and also make sure, everybody is given easiest possible way to send money. This "pot" could also work to "spend money as much as you like". Find a way that @Cecile and other administrators don't need to spend too much time to secure financing.
Some intriguing ideas were mentioned. One could be to "honour" sponsors with a label, - an icon, next to his avatar to show his donation. I just don't wanna end up with a Points - Achievements - BoyScout Medal thing as we've seen with Claris' Jive and Salesforce forum.
Maybe a small graphic indicator in the forums header could show how many future months are sponsored.
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I personally do not need a special badge or so - but that could be a help to aquire new 'sponsors'
And if there would be so much more money than needed, @Cecile could aquire Claris 
I donated to Wiki yesterday and I did receive an email thanking me. Looked like this.
=-=-=-=-=
Dear Bill,
Thank you for your one-time gift of $ 5.35. Your support of Wikipedia’s mission means everything right now.
This letter feels very personal this year. I’m writing to you from my home, which has also become my office. Perhaps you can relate. It seems like so much has been upended in one way or another over the past year—pandemic, school closures, economic strain, the list goes on. But I take comfort in knowing that Wikipedia’s purpose remains steady: to make knowledge available to you. We’re here no matter what life throws your way.
Slowly and steadily, we’re building knowledge for the world, whatever that world looks like. We’re here every day, as a resource for whatever questions you might have. We’re here so you can keep exploring, even if your exploring these days happens mostly from home.
Bill, thank you for helping Wikipedia continue to grow and be here for the world. I'm grateful and deeply honored to be on this journey with you.
Katherine
Katherine Maher, Executive Director
Wikimedia Foundation
That's a nice letter, kind words.
Wow! Thank you everyone! So much wisdom through these exchanges. I really appreciate the time you put in to think about it and share.
Since the beginning, it has helped me greatly in making decisions to keep the soup aligned with the mission and values that prompted its inception.
Will gather our thoughts and make adjustments to the bylaws and will post them once ready.
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that would be 'very ok' for me - but I received nothing. It is maybe 2 years ago..
(and I donate more money if memory serves well)
+1, though I do agree that the feedback of receiving a "thank you" notification has value.
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I'd be very happy to donate to keep fmsoup going. This forum is an excellent resource with it's own unique flavour. I would prefer a voluntary donation to a subscription model. The only thanks and recognition I would personally want is to see fmsoup continuing to flourish. For some a small monthly amount is better for others an annual payment works best and for others a one-off donation. If there was a way to set up these options, an option for recurring payments, that would suit me well. I think it is important that it is also clear that donation is voluntary bases on what one can afford. It should not put any one off using fmsoup.
Good examples, to which I regularly contribute, are Wikipedia and Radio Paradise.
Best wishes!
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Here is the final draft. It is more tedious to read as it is written using the form proposed by ISED for non-profits.
I had to work the purposes so that the language is likely to meet charitable organisation guidelines. Each purpose must provide 3 information elements and be as specific as possible.
1-Category of charitable purpose (poverty, advancement of education, advancement of religion, other -- e.g. promoting health, protecting environment)
2-Means for providing the charitable benefit
3-The eligible beneficiary group
I will be waiting a bit for further comments before putting it to vote.
Bylaws.pdf (188.8 KB)
Here is a link to the English text of the Canada Not-For-Profit Corporations Act.
By-law #3 is confusing. It states that the.soup.org is incorporated at the federal level, is registered in the province of Ontario, yet is governed by the laws of the province of Québec. It also talks about an "agreement" and not "by-laws". Would it not make more sense that the laws of the province of Ontario govern the by-laws?