May 24, 2014

First iSteve fundraising drive of 2014

Dear Readers:

It's time for my first fundraising drive of 2014. I last asked you to help support my work back in December, and you were quite generous. I'd like to thank everyone who chipped in last winter.

Since I last announced a fundraiser, I've made 596 posts here at iSteve in 2104. This year, my blog has accounted for 3,242,658 pageviews and 117,821 hours of reading time. Those are not insignificant numbers. iSteve represents a 21st Century perspective that's becoming harder to ignore. 

To help me continue to put in the long hours required, I am asking for your support. I would greatly appreciate any contribution you can make.

I apologize for my recurrent need to come up with different ways to transfer me money after Paypal, Amazon, and WePay have all been turned off for my use. 

I currently have five ways to send me money. They have all been tested and proven workable over the last week during the soft opening. (I am grateful to those who volunteered to be guinea pigs.)

The latter three methods have been shown to work inside America, but those abroad may have troubles. (I shall look into this. The first two should work everywhere.)

I would appreciate suggestions for other methods.

First: You can mail a non-tax deductible donation to:

Steve Sailer
P.O Box 4142
Valley Village, CA 91617-0142


Second: You can make a tax deductible contribution via VDARE by clicking here. (Paypal and credit cards accepted, including recurring "subscription" donations.)

Third: send money via the Paypal-like Google Wallet to my Gmail address (that'sisteveslrATgmail.com -- replace the AT with a @). (Non-tax deductible.)
Here's the Google Wallet FAQ. From it: "You will need to have (or sign up for) Google Wallet to send or receive money. If you have ever purchased anything on Google Play, then you most likely already have a Google Wallet. If you do not yet have a Google Wallet, don’t worry, the process is simple: go to wallet.google.com and follow the steps." You probably already have a Google ID and password, which Google Wallet uses, so signing up Wallet is pretty painless.

You can put money into your Google Wallet Balance from your bank account and send it with no service fee.

Or you can send money via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, AmEx, Discover) with the industry-standard 2.9% fee. (You don't need to put money into your Google Wallet Balance to do this.)

Google Wallet works from both a website and a smartphone app (Android and iPhone -- the Google Wallet app is currently available only in the U.S., but the Google Wallet website can be used in 160 countries).

Or, once you sign up with Google Wallet, you can simply send money via credit card, bank transfer, or Wallet Balance as an attachment from Google's free Gmail email service. Here'show to do it.

(Non-tax deductible.)

Fourth: if you have a Chase bank account (or other bank accounts), you can transfer money to me (with no fees) via Chase QuickPay (FAQ). Just tell Chase QuickPay to send the money to my ancient AOL email address (steveslrATaol.com -- replace the AT with the usual @). If Chase asks for the name on my account, it's Steven Sailer with an n at the end of Steven. (Non-tax deductible.)

Fifth: if you have a Wells Fargo bank account, you can transfer money to me (with no fees) via Wells Fargo SurePay. Just tell WF SurePay to send the money to my ancient AOL email address steveslrATaol.com -- replace the AT with the usual @). (Non-tax deductible.)


I am deeply thankful for your generosity.
   

18 comments:

Simon in London said...

Looks like I managed to donate via Vdare-Paypal this time. Not tax deductible of course.

Anonymous said...

Have become a big fan of your work Mr. Sailer.

Would like to support you.

Perhaps your readers would be more moved to write a check if they knew more about what went into the production, eg the time and effort gathering and writing the stories as well as perhaps some of the costs of keeping the site running and the community commentary functioning.

I've been convinced you must have hired an outsourced services to moderate comments as well as to provide security to keep the place safe from hackers who might be hostile to your perspectives.

One more thing might be interesting. Everybody is aware of how the mainstream and right-thinking progressive media exploits the eagerness of folks to get into the opinionated journalism business and depends on hiring unpaid interns. I'm not sure how having a job history working with you on a CV might hurt or help somebody's career prospects. As much as I understand that your site may not be so attractive to advertisers for its willingness to consider controversial questions and perspectives, there does seem to be a market for everything.

How else can Mr. Sailer make his appeal more persuasive? Select and publish some blurbs from supporters who share why they decided to give support? Offer totebags to sponsors?

Andrew Sullivan and Armed Bandits said...

Wow, that post from April about the woman's sexist sexting company in NYT is already your 3rd most popular ever--even surpassing any posts about WM/AF couples or the Lacrossezilla of 2006...

Polymath said...

How exactly did PayPal, Amazon, and WePay come to ban you? Did you ever reach an actual person at any of those companies willing to discuss the specifics of the decision -- who complained, which posts offended, what was the name of the person who was technically responsible for the decision, etc.

Walter Brooke said...

3rd most popular ever

I just want to say one word to you: Antiblondism

Mike said...

"my Gmail address (that'sisteveslrATgmail.com"

The formatting looks a bit odd (I don't see any spaces where there should be spaces). May want to check if it looks right to you.

Anonymous said...

Dear "big fan of your work Mr. Sailer",
No doubt Mr. Sailer is better at writing than marketing himself.
I happen to know that writing is Mr. Sailer's full time job (this blog, Takmag & the occasional venue brave enough to publish his work & not just crib from it)
He used to write for National Review, UPI, American Spectator, Vdare, & American Conservative when he either didn't have a blog or he blogged much less.
Keep reading if you find his work valuable & contribute if you're moved to.
If you want a totebag, try the NPR site instead.
Just don't be a troll about it.

Anonymous said...

Dear Polymath,
Do you think Steve would go out of his way to make it more difficult for readers to send him money?

Anonymous said...

Steve is the typical welfare recipient asking for money. Steve's IQ is too low to make real money and have the ability to attract wealthy individuals.

The Z Blog said...

Steve,

Mark Steyn makes money selling all sorts of stuff on his site. I don't know how successful he is at it, but I met iSteve caps would sell very well. A Boston radio guy who is a terrible heretic by local standards sells funny refrigerator magnets to raise cash.

Just a thought and good luck with the fundraiser!

Tim said...

Having tried, I don't think you can use Google wallet to send money if you are outside the US. From Google wallet help:

If you're in the US, you can send money to friends and family quickly and safely using Google Wallet.

Has anyone outside the US been able to send money via wallet?

Dahlia said...

OT, so I've been using your "ancient" email? LOL! Old time reader problem :)

Anonymous said...

I bet compiling your best articles (such as the ones you have on your sidebar) into a "Steveonomics" book could bring in some money despite not requiring that much effort. I'm sure you could crowdsource a decent cover from your readership.

Chris said...

"I bet compiling your best articles (such as the ones you have on your sidebar) into a "Steveonomics" book could bring in some money despite not requiring that much effort. "

I strongly agree with this. You could even raise money through Kickstarter to see if there is real interest in it. Even better, a Kickstarter listing would be sure to stir up controversy with the social justice warriors, and all publicity is good publicity.

If you do it, ask Heartiste/Roissy to give you a plug on his site, it would brings lots of traffic.

Noumenon said...

I don't know how successful he is at it, but I met iSteve caps would sell very well. A Boston radio guy who is a terrible heretic by local standards sells funny refrigerator magnets to raise cash.


So think of donations as saving Steve's time from being spent on marketing like this.

I e-mailed Steve to ask about PayPal, but he didn't reply. I'm so curious, what could he do that was so bad he can't even allude to what went wrong?

Noumenon said...

Is Steve really a Kickstarter kind of one-shot producer, or is he more a Patreon person who will produce a steady stream of stuff in return for steady funding? I think he should look into that instead.

Anonymous said...

I was under the impression companies weren't allowed to pick and choose who they do business with nowadays.

We're constantly hearing these cases where some old Christian B&B owner or wedding photographer must accommodate a gay couple.

Why can't a journalist offend somebody else's views without being cut off....it actually sounds like it should be illegal ?

Not that you'd want to waste your time trying to lawyer up against PayPal ...but it doesn't seem right.

You'd hope that event your idealogical enemies would respect the ideals of fair play and freedom of expression ...these are important concepts in a free society.

little dynamo said...

"Steve's IQ is too low to make real money and have the ability to attract wealthy individuals."



Nah he could make money in e.g. advertising if he wanted, couple hundred k a year easy plus bennies


Too much sense, integrity, or both to attract heavy wealth. One can't be beholden and be an effective writer, particularly in a world whose deity is Ka-ching. So if you're gonna forego being a lackey, then occasional modest requests for donations are ok, esp if family responsibilities apply.