Libera goodies for sale

[TullyBascombe]

Whew, you had me worried with that "Sponsor a Dinner for the Boys." I was wondering what you would feed a kid that would cost $540?

[Surpinto]

LOL! I am surprised that there has been no official announcement of this type of fundraising. I think that this is a new trend in fundraising; rather than asking for money and listing expenses in general, ask for it piecemeal to make people more directly connected to what they are supporting.

I'm all in. I will wait for an official announcement before donating, but my tax refund just came back and Uncle Sam was not unkind this year

[TullyBascombe]

I'm still waiting for various documents to dribble in.

[Surpinto]

More donation options just became available!

Sponsor a Hotel Room
$150.00

Lodging a large group of boys and crew for the spring tour will be very expensive. We need one hotel room for every three boys. This donation will cover the cost of one of these rooms.

If by some chance, we have already received enough to cover all lodging costs, we will reapply your donation, but only for those expenses directly related to supporting the boys on tour.

[hr]

Sponsor One Night’s Lodging
$2,250.00

Lodging a large group of boys and crew for the spring tour will be very expensive. Your donation will sponsor one night's lodging for all of the boys and crew.

If by some chance, we have already received enough to cover all lodging costs, we will reapply your donation, but only for those expenses directly related to supporting the boys on tour.

[TullyBascombe]

Thanks for reminding me to make my annual donation to Libera, but I think I'll make it a general donation instead of tying it to a specific item. What would they do if they got a hundred lunch donations but no dinner donations?

[Surpinto]

Thanks for reminding me to make my annual donation to Libera, but I think I'll make it a general donation instead of tying it to a specific item. What would they do if they got a hundred lunch donations but no dinner donations?

It says in italics that they reserve the right to channel the money elsewhere, if needed, to support the tour in other ways.

I am with you though. Even individuals that want to give a sizable chunk may not be able to be as generous as to give $300 more for a dinner. I am certainly in that boat myself. I think that sponsoring a meal or hotels specifically are more about making donors feel like their donations are making a tangible difference.

It encourages giving larger amounts than someone would have picked by themselves otherwise. For example, someone planning on giving $200 may up their donation to $240 because then they will feel good that their money paid for lunch for everyone. And Libera is happy that they got an extra $40. It's a win for everyone.

I'm waiting for an official announcement of these things before doing anything. Putting these donation options on their online store doesn't qualify as an announcement for me since this is something brand new.

[Yorkie]

I'm waiting for an official announcement of these things before doing anything. Putting these donation options on their online store doesn't qualify as an announcement for me since this is something brand new.

If you are waiting for an announcement by 'Official Libera' then it might not happen. The Libera.org website is 100% legitimate but it is not run directly by Libera. It has been set up by some well known Libera supporters to raise funds to help Libera tour the US. They work closely with Libera and you can trust them explicitly - the money will go directly on the cost of the tours as stated. One of the major advantages to the Libera.org website is that it is a US charity which allows those of you in the US to claim tax relief on your donations (at least that is my understanding but I'm not an expert on the US tax system!).

I don't think Official Libera mentioned the sale of stuff left over from the Washington D.C. filming but as everybody who ordered stuff knows it was a 100% kosher.

Hope that's some reassurance but of course it's absolutely fine if you want to support Libera in another way; one of the best things you can do is introduce family & friends to their music and request local radio stations to play them - it doesn't always have to be about $$$ but they sure do help!

[john45]

Thanks for reminding me to make my annual donation to Libera, but I think I'll make it a general donation instead of tying it to a specific item. What would they do if they got a hundred lunch donations but no dinner donations?

I think that sponsoring a meal or hotels specifically are more about making donors feel like their donations are making a tangible difference.

I agree. it's rather like the charities which suggest donating $75 to provide a goat for a needy family. Imagining a tangible outcome from a donation is much more appealing than thinking that it will just go in a general purpose kitty. Who could resist the idea of buying a few sandwiches for some hungry boys? I know I couldn't. I got an "official" receipt by the way and I don't think you need to wait for any further announcements.

[Surpinto]

I'm waiting for an official announcement of these things before doing anything. Putting these donation options on their online store doesn't qualify as an announcement for me since this is something brand new.

If you are waiting for an announcement by 'Official Libera' then it might not happen. The Libera.org website is 100% legitimate but it is not run directly by Libera. It has been set up by some well known Libera supporters to raise funds to help Libera tour the US. They work closely with Libera and you can trust them explicitly - the money will go directly on the cost of the tours as stated. One of the major advantages to the Libera.org website is that it is a US charity which allows those of you in the US to claim tax relief on your donations (at least that is my understanding but I'm not an expert on the US tax system!).

I don't think Official Libera mentioned the sale of stuff left over from the Washington D.C. filming but as everybody who ordered stuff knows it was a 100% kosher.

Hope that's some reassurance but of course it's absolutely fine if you want to support Libera in another way; one of the best things you can do is introduce family & friends to their music and request local radio stations to play them - it doesn't always have to be about $$$ but they sure do help!

Right! Sorry, I was not very clear. I ordered a calendar from Libera.org, donated money this past summer, and have been keeping up with their blog, so their credibility is not in question in my mind in any way. What I meant by "official announcement" was from the Libera.org folks themselves. Since there have not been any blog posts for a few weeks it is likely that they are getting ready to announce all of this and start accepting donations. They have also been adding and changing donation options (it went from "donate a sandwich" to "donate a lunch" in like 2 days) so I want to wait until it's clear that no new options will be added before deciding what to donate to. I may just end up doing the same as TullyBascombe and give a general donation rather than anything specific like funding a lunch or hotel room.

[Yorkie]

I agree. it's rather like the charities which suggest donating $75 to provide a goat for a needy family. Imagining a tangible outcome from a donation is much more appealing than thinking that it will just go in a general purpose kitty. Who could resist the idea of buying a few sandwiches for some hungry boys? I know I couldn't. I got an "official" receipt by the way and I don't think you need to wait for any further announcements.

I'm even more tempted If I get to pick the fillings!

[Yorkie]

Right! Sorry, I was not very clear. I ordered a calendar from Libera.org, donated money this past summer, and have been keeping up with their blog, so their credibility is not in question in my mind in any way. What I meant by "official announcement" was from the Libera.org folks themselves. Since there have not been any blog posts for a few weeks it is likely that they are getting ready to announce all of this and start accepting donations. They have also been adding and changing donation options (it went from "donate a sandwich" to "donate a lunch" in like 2 days) so I want to wait until it's clear that no new options will be added before deciding what to donate to. I may just end up doing the same as TullyBascombe and give a general donation rather than anything specific like funding a lunch or hotel room.

Understood

I'll leave my post intact though in case anybody else has some doubts if that's ok.

[Surpinto]

Still more donation options just became available! Just when I thought that was it, they added more. This is why I am going to wait until it's clear that no more options will be added before making my choice of donation.

Donate a Boy’s Flight
$200.00

We need to fly the boys between cities four times during the spring US tour. Your donation will cover the cost to fly one boy between cities.



Donate Water for the Boys
$35.00

The cost of water for all the boys adds up pretty quickly. Your donation will cover a round of 500ml bottled of water for all of the boys.

[Yorkie]

Isn't that bottled water in the photo just tap (faucet) water though? I'm OK buying mineral/spring water but that stuff is a rip off.

[Surpinto]

And the announcement finally comes! It looks like all of the options to be offered have been offered. Now to decide which I will donate to, or whether to make a general contribution. It all comes down to finances ultimately. Let's see what my actuarial tables uncover

[TullyBascombe]

Just thinking, if this was an American group they'd have to label each of these items "Gift of ______ ________."