Bring Out The GIMP Forum

We can say that our fundraising campaign for the Forum was half successful or half unsuccessful.

We raised 500 of the 1000 we need to keep this forum running smoothly for the year.

4 members were kind enough to contribute the 500.
1 put in 200
3 put in 100 each
THANK YOU!!

1 promised 200 but it stayed as a promise.

The rest of the 1400 members of this forum couldn't care less.
That says something.

At least we confirmed our suspicions, that Margot was correct about how important we are here.

Will the Forum run smoothly during the rest of the year?

We don't know. But we can keep things going for the next 6 to 7 months.

We will not have the upgrade we were planning. It takes a lot effort, some cash and valuable time of our team, which at this point apparently only 4 people here appreciate.

We have enough to cover part of the expenses and we will continue backing the site while it is within our financial possibilities.

Those 1000 dollars were specifically to help cover unavoidable costs. We will continue covering what we can of those increasing costs.

You will see a lot more promotion for our work, which you can all ignore or maybe support by buying a film or two or joining our streaming channel. If we have enough subscribers until the end of the year, we will not need to fundraise and we will be able to do all the necessary upgrades that will definitely come up during the year and the years to come. This Forum is growing, daily, and we'll reach our limit and then... we'll see.

So you can all keep enjoying the forum, in the present condition, you can still share your images, stories, promote your work for free, everything like it's been for the last 27 years.

The Dude is now moving on, he does not need to stick around, he's going to do the invisible work he always does. Every day. And he will do any urgent tech work that might come up, as always.




The team will proceed to take over the Admin of the Forum, a job held by Margot until she felt it was time to go, in her view her contributions were not successful. But we, as a team, will limit our work to promote our movies and keep an eye on what's going on here. That work will be in the hands of whoever has some extra time.

Registrations will be mostly disabled.

And that's that.

Good night to those few who will read this.

I'm one of the few who read this and I wonder if the following approach would result in much bigger response:

Raise the issue of the cost to maintain the site operational and ask a small donation, say $5 or even $10, from every member who really wants to keep this forum alive. I think many members are thinking you're asking for $100+ contributions and therefore reluctant to donate.
I for one would have no problem with a $10,- donation.

Just my 2 cents.

BobDarkroom wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2026 8:40 am I'm one of the few who read this and I wonder if the following approach would result in much bigger response:

Raise the issue of the cost to maintain the site operational and ask a small donation, say $5 or even $10, from every member who really wants to keep this forum alive. I think many members are thinking you're asking for $100+ contributions and therefore reluctant to donate.
I for one would have no problem with a $10,- donation.

Just my 2 cents.

In previous posts Margot mentioned that any amount can help. She did not specify an amount. The people who contributed, the four of them, offered a set amount for the PayPal payment request.

In previous fundraisings we set up a members tier of 3 dollars as a contribution to the Forum. We had four people who took that option.

Last year we set a PayPal contribution link to receive support with a low amount. We had enough contributions from that link and in addition some members were willing to receive payment requests for large amounts. The largest was 250 USD.

Unfortunately, we are no longer able to use that PayPal account for this purpose. Our PayPal account, which we had maintained for nearly 20 years with an excellent track record, was terminated. This occurred after someone submitted a complaint regarding our fundraising activities, specifically referencing a link to this Forum. As a result, we can no longer use PayPal in that specific way and must seek alternative avenues for support.

This is how Margot put it:



Reevaluating Our Time and Efforts

Given the current lack of enthusiastic support, we can no longer expect backing from members. As a result, we are considering not to spend our valuable time on endeavors, like a fundraising, that have proven to be half way effective. The 500 we raised this year is already being put to good use. But we wish we raised the 1000, there are some incoming costs that we will need to cover and we are working to that end.

Instead, we will be focusing our resources, time and effort, on our core activities and projects, particularly our films. We encourage those who wish to support our work and the continuity of this Forum, to do so by purchasing our films or joining our streaming channel. This direct support, modestly successful, will enable us to continue producing quality work, maintain our commitment to our craft and to use time, effort and resources to maintain this Forum through the years.

Matching Support with Effort

We are committed to dedicating resources and our valuable time and effort based on the support we received from this Forum. If there is support and engagement, we will respond by investing the needed resources, our effort and time accordingly.

If support is not forthcoming, our covering increasing costs and our level of effort and time commitment will reflect that absence.

I have been on vacation for a few months and will be back soon. I pledge a $250 donation when I get back home this week. I really enjoy the stories and art work so I will definitely provide some financial support.

It is sad that your PP was killed.... I have looked at all requests and have NOT found how and where to donate anything. IF my wife found out I have subscribed to your movies I would have a divorce... So maybe cash in the envelope would work?

bakerboy wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2026 8:00 am It is sad that your PP was killed.... I have looked at all requests and have NOT found how and where to donate anything. IF my wife found out I have subscribed to your movies I would have a divorce... So maybe cash in the envelope would work?

We have another PP account, the one that was terminated was our business PP account which we used for a number of things, including fundraisers for our films and this Forum. We have a couple of personal accounts that we can use in moderation, nothing like a campaign, but we can send payment requests, for instance.

Cash on the mail doesn't work for us. We have a couple of addresses in the US but we're not there to check the mail. Sending cash to Bolivia is not advisable, there's no Postal Service anymore, for one, and if it somehow makes it here, it will go directly to the pockets of the delivery man or someone before him.

Our fundraising campaign received a nice contribution of 250!

Now we're over half way there, a little more and we'll hit the 1000 for the year!

Our great thanks to the contributor you wants to remain anonymous but you know who you are. THANK YOU!

I think it is troublesome that it is taking so long to raise this money.

Come on friends. You like using the website, but it takes money to run it.

If everyone gave just a little, it would raise the money they need in no time.

Try harder please folks.

THis is my 2nd visit of the year. I didn't even know there was an issue.

How do I make a contribution?