A Summary of Current Freenet Fundraising Practices Shady Kanfi Realtime Online Ottawa, 1900 hr, Aug 16, '94. One of the more successful techniques at raising donations has been adding a description on the registration form of how importantdonations are to freenets. The use of credit cards to facilitate transactions on the freenet was one option being explored. Incorporation as a co-operative venture was suggested as a form of organization that would garner significant public support. The suggestion that garnered the most enthusiasm was the issuing of personalized user names (or Vanity Plates). Estimates on the potential for revenue ranged from $20 to $100. Once freenets gain their initial Internet connection, they can then act as resellers of 'point of presence' on the Internet. Offering site addresses for school boards, institutions and other interested parties. Offering training courses on using the Internet was suggested as another way of raising revenue. Sponsoring, of various freenet services or parts of infrastructure was also suggested as potential for revenue. One example is NCF's successful practice of allowing the sponsoring of phone lines. One strong suggestion was to collect the demographics on your users. This will help tremendously when approaching businesses for sponsorship. Approach those organization that materially benefit from the use of your services. Information providers, local or national organizations that use the freenets communications facilities. Approach your major information providers for donations, especially if their mandate is to publicly distribute information. -- Realtime Online - Professional Conference Reporting Team Rosaleen Dickson, Ottawa ac174@freenet.carleton.ca. Pierre Bourque, Michel Careau, Shady Kanfi, Charles King, Andrea Kujala, Jules Lafrance, Bruce MacDonald, Robt Rattey, Natalie Roth, Michael Silvestrini, Stephen Toy.