Helping Hand project - Page 7

kander · 7 Jan 2004, 02:31 AM

Apologies accepted on behalf of myself and the future government(s)...

--K

anj · 7 Jan 2004, 02:56 AM

Kander and GPDoyon, Thank you for your generosity in administering this service.

I would like to donate to this account but my hesitation is not knowing who accounts are typically given to and what the evaluation criteria are. Respecting the wishes for anonymity, would it be possible to share a little bit about who each account was given to? For example: from what countries, why they were selected, what work they do (missionary, village elementary school teacher, etc.
A possible list of evaluation criteria:
1. Need
2. Public service (refuge worker?)
3. Religious service (missionary?)
4. Educational service (rural/village elementary teacher?)
5. Economic boost: Help someone with many people depending on them get on their feet (single mother looking for a job?)
6. Compassion for a compelling story of personal need (homeless?, children of migrant workers?)
7. Service to youth (elementary kids doing International email exchange, poor high school student with stated ambition)

I'm not saying these should be the criteria. I'm just pointing out, it is nice to know who/what you are helping.

Kander, GPDoyon, What other criteria have been actually applied?

Could basic, anonymous descriptions be put on a small website or added to the wiki?

**Sherry** · 7 Jan 2004, 03:00 AM

Is it possible to donate using an alias instead of the primary account address?

Sherry

7 Jan 2004, 03:05 AM

Donation is done by purchasing a Gift Certificate, and the gift certificate window does not contain a place to put the sender's email address - only for the recipient's.

So, no, I don't think it's possible.

BTW It may be a good suggestion - to be able to generally purchase gift certificates using aliases

kander · 7 Jan 2004, 03:09 AM

Sherry,

Unfortunately not

I've asked Jeremy if it would be possible to integrate personalities and Gift Certificates, so that you can anonymize your donations...

We already have one case of someone donating a gift certificate and found out that it was send using his/her main accountname... I've sworn secrecy, and actually forwarded the mail to myself with the new address, then removed the original.. so the address is pretty safe.

I can hereby guarantee you that I'll do anything in my power to keep the privacy of donators safeguarded.

Anj,

So far I haven't received any applications, so I can't tell you what my criteria have been, you'd need Gerry for that... for myself I would have used a list similar to yours, although not written out. Basically I'd just read the explanation of why somebody would need the account, and then determine how needed it was, partly based on the points you described and partly on 'gut feeling'.

Edit: Thinking this over I come to the conclusion that I can summarize this in one sentence: Do they want it for their personal benefit, or will they use the account to 'do good'?

--K

JamesHenderson · 7 Jan 2004, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kander
I added it to the How To Donate in the Wiki, but I'm afraid I haven't explained it very clearly.

Could someone have a go at it?

--K

Kander,

It looks OK to me. It's accurate enough that someone should be able to do it.

James.

mammaduck · 7 Jan 2004, 07:53 AM

Earlier in this thread I asked if it would be possible to waive the 2 dollar fee when adding money to your account pool through Paypal. I also mentioned that I don't have a credit card and I would rather give those 2 dollars to the HH project.

Diane was kind enough to offer in one of her posts to sort of act as a middle man: I could transfer money from my pp account to hers after which she would then buy a gift certificate for the HH project.

I have to admit I am not a very trusting person, especially when it comes to sending money to -well lets face it- complete strangers. I do know though that a lot of the members of this forum are a tight group who help each other whenever possible.

Diane considers herself a newbie (oh how I hate that word) but I would like to thank her for her help so I could donate some money to the project.

Diane also told me that she would gladly help anybody else who doesn't have a credit card but only a Paypal account. So come on people, don't be shy................ let the donations start :-)

Diane you might be a "newbie" to the forum but your kind words and warm thoughts should be a lesson and inspiration for all of us!!!!!

Hanneke

**gpdoyon** · 7 Jan 2004, 09:42 AM

Hi!

Quote:

Originally posted by anj
Kander and GPDoyon, Thank you for your generosity in administering this service.

You are quite welcome!! I am really not involved in the administrative aspect of this project now. The "Helping Hand" project seems to be a kind of group effort at this time with Kander in the lead position.

Quote:

I would like to donate to this account but my hesitation is not knowing who accounts are typically given to and what the evaluation criteria are. Respecting the wishes for anonymity, would it be possible to share a little bit about who each account was given to? For example: from what countries, why they were selected, what work they do (missionary, village elementary school teacher, etc.

Hmmm....that is a tough one! I've used all of the criteria that you listed when possible. As a rule, I was usually able to make a determination of whether or not they were a qualified candidate after they sent me a message about who they are and why they feel they deserve it.

Some time it's real simple to disqualify someone, often times it was not. There is really no hard and fast rule. You make a decision based on what they wrote and a general feeling about the person and their sincerity. I'm not sure that what I wrote really answered your question.

- Gerry

DianeB · 7 Jan 2004, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mammaduck
Diane also told me that she would gladly help anybody else who doesn't have a credit card but only a Paypal account. So come on people, don't be shy................ let the donations start :-)

I would be more than delighted to do this for anyone with PayPal that doesn't have a Credit Card. It's just a matter of you transferring money to my PayPal account, then I will put the money into Helping Hands via my Credit Card & send a note to Kander with it, letting him know who it's from & whether you want to remain anonymous or not. Anyone needing/wanting to do this, please PM me.

Quote:

Originally posted by mammaduck
Diane you might be a "newbie" to the forum but your kind words and warm thoughts should be a lesson and inspiration for all of us!!!!!

Thank you 'mammaduck'. Those kind words certainly warms my heart. It's always been the 'little' things in life that mean the most to me & I can tell that I'm going to end up making some wonderful friends here. True friends are worth more than any amount of gold or diamonds! ( though of course, I've never been known to turn down gold or diamonds, if offered!!

)

Diane

jolycu · 13 Jan 2004, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffK

(jolycu, are you the lady with the same surname as Roland?)

Jeff

Nope! If I said "Mrs. C" a lot of folks could figure it out

Jeremy Howard · 14 Jan 2004, 06:44 AM

I'm happy to overlook the $2 for Paypal payments to the Helping Hand account. Just follow the instructions here: http://www.fastmail.fm/docs/faqparts...ing.htm#PayPal . Include in the notes to the payment "charitable donation - please waive transaction fee" or words to that effect, to remind us.

**Sherry** · 14 Jan 2004, 06:58 AM

I would still like to donate to the Helping Hand account. I don't mind revealing my PP email to FM by adding funds to my account pool. But, I want to be able to send from the account pool using an Alias. I'm hoping FM will setup the ability to do this.

Sherry

kander · 20 Jan 2004, 10:23 PM

Greetings Friend of the Helping Hands Programme,

Rejoice, for I have set up a Paypal account for helpinghand@emailgroups.net. If you don't want to send through the FM system for any reason, but do feel comfortable about a huge multi-million company handling your payment, then you can use this as an alternative. The payment will then be transferred to Fastmail by me, and since Jeremy already agreed to waiving the fees, no additional cost will be involved (except perhaps Paypal cost? Not sure... haven't used them before)...

Click Here To Donate To The FM Helping Hand Project Using Paypal

Edit: Daniel S pointed me at the following information, many thanks!

Fee for receiving USD payments: 3.4%+ ?0.35 EUR+1.00% - Please keep this in mind when making donations!

--K

robert@fm · 21 Jan 2004, 01:12 AM

...but does this affect the Helping Hand project?

It would be a shame to see it go quiescent again, or have to find another contact person, because of that discussed in the thread to which I linked...

(On the other hand, maybe Kander could point to the Helping Hand Project as a good reason why he shouldn't be restricted?

)

SusanUKF · 21 Jan 2004, 01:40 AM

I was actaually thinking that way myself Robert,,,maybe he can come up with some kind of compromise with his parents that would suit everyone...give him time for his homework,but still have some pc time,maybe time on the net just has to restricted

I know I am addicted myself,I hope everything works out for him and for the project as well...

Susan.

7 Jan 2004, 03:09 AM	#95
kander The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,112	Sherry, Unfortunately not I've asked Jeremy if it would be possible to integrate personalities and Gift Certificates, so that you can anonymize your donations... We already have one case of someone donating a gift certificate and found out that it was send using his/her main accountname... I've sworn secrecy, and actually forwarded the mail to myself with the new address, then removed the original.. so the address is pretty safe. I can hereby guarantee you that I'll do anything in my power to keep the privacy of donators safeguarded. Anj, So far I haven't received any applications, so I can't tell you what my criteria have been, you'd need Gerry for that... for myself I would have used a list similar to yours, although not written out. Basically I'd just read the explanation of why somebody would need the account, and then determine how needed it was, partly based on the points you described and partly on 'gut feeling'. Edit: Thinking this over I come to the conclusion that I can summarize this in one sentence: Do they want it for their personal benefit, or will they use the account to 'do good'? --K Last edited by kander : 7 Jan 2004 at 06:35 AM.

20 Jan 2004, 10:23 PM	#103
kander The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,112	Paypal Account Set up Greetings Friend of the Helping Hands Programme, Rejoice, for I have set up a Paypal account for helpinghand@emailgroups.net. If you don't want to send through the FM system for any reason, but do feel comfortable about a huge multi-million company handling your payment, then you can use this as an alternative. The payment will then be transferred to Fastmail by me, and since Jeremy already agreed to waiving the fees, no additional cost will be involved (except perhaps Paypal cost? Not sure... haven't used them before)... Click Here To Donate To The FM Helping Hand Project Using Paypal Edit: Daniel S pointed me at the following information, many thanks! Fee for receiving USD payments: 3.4%+ ?0.35 EUR+1.00% - Please keep this in mind when making donations! --K Last edited by kander : 20 Jan 2004 at 10:37 PM.

21 Jan 2004, 01:12 AM	#104
robert@fm The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 4,681	I don't wish to be alarmist... ...but does this affect the Helping Hand project? It would be a shame to see it go quiescent again, or have to find another contact person, because of that discussed in the thread to which I linked... (On the other hand, maybe Kander could point to the Helping Hand Project as a good reason why he shouldn't be restricted?)

7 Jan 2004, 02:31 AM	#91
kander The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,112	Apologies accepted on behalf of myself and the future government(s)... --K

7 Jan 2004, 02:56 AM	#92
anj Master of the @ Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: California Posts: 1,148	Kander and GPDoyon, Thank you for your generosity in administering this service. I would like to donate to this account but my hesitation is not knowing who accounts are typically given to and what the evaluation criteria are. Respecting the wishes for anonymity, would it be possible to share a little bit about who each account was given to? For example: from what countries, why they were selected, what work they do (missionary, village elementary school teacher, etc. A possible list of evaluation criteria: 1. Need 2. Public service (refuge worker?) 3. Religious service (missionary?) 4. Educational service (rural/village elementary teacher?) 5. Economic boost: Help someone with many people depending on them get on their feet (single mother looking for a job?) 6. Compassion for a compelling story of personal need (homeless?, children of migrant workers?) 7. Service to youth (elementary kids doing International email exchange, poor high school student with stated ambition) I'm not saying these should be the criteria. I'm just pointing out, it is nice to know who/what you are helping. Kander, GPDoyon, What other criteria have been actually applied? Could basic, anonymous descriptions be put on a small website or added to the wiki?

7 Jan 2004, 03:00 AM	#93
Sherry Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: USA Posts: 8,687	Is it possible to donate using an alias instead of the primary account address? Sherry

7 Jan 2004, 03:05 AM	#94
Daniel S Guest Posts: n/a	Donation is done by purchasing a Gift Certificate, and the gift certificate window does not contain a place to put the sender's email address - only for the recipient's. So, no, I don't think it's possible. BTW It may be a good suggestion - to be able to generally purchase gift certificates using aliases

7 Jan 2004, 07:53 AM	#97
mammaduck Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Netherlands Posts: 706	Earlier in this thread I asked if it would be possible to waive the 2 dollar fee when adding money to your account pool through Paypal. I also mentioned that I don't have a credit card and I would rather give those 2 dollars to the HH project. Diane was kind enough to offer in one of her posts to sort of act as a middle man: I could transfer money from my pp account to hers after which she would then buy a gift certificate for the HH project. I have to admit I am not a very trusting person, especially when it comes to sending money to -well lets face it- complete strangers. I do know though that a lot of the members of this forum are a tight group who help each other whenever possible. Diane considers herself a newbie (oh how I hate that word) but I would like to thank her for her help so I could donate some money to the project. Diane also told me that she would gladly help anybody else who doesn't have a credit card but only a Paypal account. So come on people, don't be shy................ let the donations start :-) Diane you might be a "newbie" to the forum but your kind words and warm thoughts should be a lesson and inspiration for all of us!!!!! Hanneke

14 Jan 2004, 06:44 AM	#101
Jeremy Howard Ultimate Contributor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Australia Posts: 11,501	I'm happy to overlook the $2 for Paypal payments to the Helping Hand account. Just follow the instructions here: http://www.fastmail.fm/docs/faqparts...ing.htm#PayPal . Include in the notes to the payment "charitable donation - please waive transaction fee" or words to that effect, to remind us.

14 Jan 2004, 06:58 AM	#102
Sherry Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: USA Posts: 8,687	I would still like to donate to the Helping Hand account. I don't mind revealing my PP email to FM by adding funds to my account pool. But, I want to be able to send from the account pool using an Alias. I'm hoping FM will setup the ability to do this. Sherry

21 Jan 2004, 01:40 AM	#105
SusanUKF Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 5,428	I was actaually thinking that way myself Robert,,,maybe he can come up with some kind of compromise with his parents that would suit everyone...give him time for his homework,but still have some pc time,maybe time on the net just has to restricted I know I am addicted myself,I hope everything works out for him and for the project as well... Susan.