NATIONAL CAPITAL FREENET FUND RAISING COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT Introduction The Fund Raising Committee of the National Capital FreeNet is responsible for raising the funds required to make the FreeNet as self-sustaining an entity as is possible. The committee first met in early in 1993 and had face to face meetings every few months throughout the year. The committee also took on responsibility for the NCF registration as a registered charity and for the registration of the NCF logo as our official mark. Initial Funding The NCF was fortunate in having David Sutherland very active in fund raising well before the committee was formed. Mr. Sutherland obtained significant funding grants and donations of equipment totalling well over $100,000 for 1993 alone. Thanks to his efforts, the FreeNet has been able to operate pretty much free of financial worries for the first year. Fund Raising Activities The Fund Raising Committee established several programs for funding NCF activities. The Line Sponsor program was designed to recognize small businesses in the area for supporting the costs of operating the telephone lines for the FreeNet. Companies donated the cost of a telephone line for one year and in turn received on-line recognition on the FreeNet. It required $700 to pay for one line for one year. This sum included $500 for the actual expense of the telephone line, at business rates, and a further $200 to cover the costs of gaining access the Internet via ONet. In return for their support, line sponsors received an acknowledgement on the system login screen, had their names entered into the Line Sponsor list in the Fund Raising area on the FreeNet, and were allowed to use the term "National Capital FreeNet Line Sponsor", along with the FreeNet logo, in their advertising. To date there are 12 lines sponsored. During the Fall of 1993 the Fund Raising Committee ran the first on-line funding drive. This experimental exercise had two goals: the first was obviously to raise money; but the second goal was to learn about on-line fund raising. Relating to the first goal - about 500 people donated over $15,000. Many valuable lessons were learned from the funding drive, some of these came from our own experience with the mechanics of operating the drive while others were suggestions from the users. We are doing as much as possible to make it as easy as possible for donors to support the FreeNet. For example, the groundwork has been laid to make credit card donations possible, and that capability should be in place in early 1994. It may also be possible for users to make donations via email. Status of the Application as a Registered Charity Our initial application for registration as a charitable organization was refused. However, we were given the opportunity to appeal the decision in a reply to Revenue Canada Taxation, Charities Division. Just before Christmas 1993, a deputation from the FreeNet met with the desk officer for our application. At that time we gave a demonstration of the NCF and presented our formal reply to the initial rejection. We expect a reply on this matter early in 1994. Problem Areas In 1993 the Fund Raising Committee's main difficulty was a shortage of volunteers available to approach potential sponsors during regular business hours. People have expressed interest in helping out with fund raising, but many people are uncomfortable approaching others to ask for money. Recently, a volunteer has come forward to act as the NCF Coordinator of Volunteers, this should make it easier for interested volunteers to get involved. The Future 1994 will be the year of fund raising for the NCF. After the massive growth of 1993 subsidized by our initial funding, it is now time to secure our present position and future growth by establishing a firm funding base. The upcoming year will be an exciting and challenging one for the NCF Fund Raising Committee. -- John Morgan Chair - Fund Raising Committee - aa340@freenet.carlton.ca