My reasons for not donating are below.

Q: How much of my donation actually goes to you?
A: Over 89% of your donation goes directly to SETI@home; the rest goes to the University of California, and pays for our office space, server room, and electricity.



So the University of California gets 11% of all donations received. Plus 11% of Tax relieve to US resident who donate. What could this project seti@home do with this extra 11%?

Not a good advert for requesting donations for seti@home. Seems to me the more you donate to seti@home the richer the Admin department of the University of California becomes.

If for example you did receive donations of $10,000. How would you justify the increase of $1,100 to University of California apart from electricity and line usage to ISP?

1 For office space (would remain the same size)

2 Server Room (would remain same size a bit more cramped with the new equipment.That was paided for with other 89%)

3 Electricity (Increase In line with the suppliers rates. Cannot see this cost increasing by $1.1 for every $10 donated.)

Michael

My reasons for not donating are below.

Q: How much of my donation actually goes to you?
A: Over 89% of your donation goes directly to SETI@home; the rest goes to the University of California, and pays for our office space, server room, and electricity.



So the University of California gets 11% of all donations received. Plus 11% of Tax relieve to US resident who donate. What could this project seti@home do with this extra 11%?

Not a good advert for requesting donations for seti@home. Seems to me the more you donate to seti@home the richer the Admin department of the University of California becomes.

If for example you did receive donations of $10,000. How would you justify the increase of $1,100 to University of California apart from electricity and line usage to ISP?

1 For office space (would remain the same size)

2 Server Room (would remain same size a bit more cramped with the new equipment.That was paided for with other 89%)

3 Electricity (Increase In line with the suppliers rates. Cannot see this cost increasing by $1.1 for every $10 donated.)

Michael

So you choose NOT to donate to Seti@Home for something that Seti@Home have absolutely NO CONTROL OVER??? Does not make sense!!!

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Boinc....Boinc....Boinc....Boinc....

If you really stop to think about it, I doubt that UCB's take out of the donations actually covers their costs....

Consider....
The obvious, electricity.
Upkeep on the building itself. Air conditioning and heating costs for the space used by Seti. Maintenance on the AC for the server closet. Janitorial services (wish they'd quit unplugging the servers to use the vac). Liability insurance to cover those working there. And hundreds of things I am not even thinking of right now. ETC., ETC., ETC..
Any small business owner could tell you how many little things to manage a small working environment build up into appreciable costs.

And who pays for the dang coffee, anyways??? LOL.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Michael,
Do you pay taxes? If you make an extra $1100 does your government say "Oh well, that's just a one off, we won't tax him on that" or would it put you in a higher tax bracket and you wind up paying even more? As Mark said, it is doubtful SAH gets enough all the time to cover the costs for UC Berkeley so they have to average it out. Sometimes SAH gets more than enough sometimes not. How long would a renter stay in their apartment if they had to tell their landlord they were sorry but they didn't have all their rent but in a couple of months there should be a big job coming in and they should have the money then?

I'd say 11% is a pretty fair price especially when you look at some "charities" where the people they are supposed to be helping are lucky to see 11% of the donations taken in and the other 89% goes into the pockets of those running the charity.

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PROUD MEMBER OF Team Starfire World BOINC

Josef W. Segur wrote:
<snip>

In my mind, what they get from grants is great, but any grant is aimed at some specific goal identified in the grant proposal.

You are right. Unless a grant is made at a general level the money is targeted and has to be spent totally on the designated task (or equipment).

As far as I know, the donations made via the SETI website are general in nature and can be used for any purpose, e.g., operational expenses, misc. equipment, etc.

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The Kittyman is right on point with his comments. Having previously operated a soft money program at a U.S. university, I can attest that 11% is a very small percentage for the University of California system to take off the top. SETI@Home is getting a good deal. Knowing that so much of the financial contribution is going directly to the program should increase our motivation to donate.

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As far as I know, the donations made via the SETI website are general in nature and can be used for any purpose, e.g., operational expenses, misc. equipment, etc.

Tom, even those can be earmarked for something specific. I remember once we donated for a newer server and marked all donations just for that. I also seem to remember donating for drinks for the guys too but I'm a little fuzzy on the details on that one. :-)

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PROUD MEMBER OF Team Starfire World BOINC

Once upon a time when Hardware was really bad... I remember a User offering up a Severboard.

Then "many poeple" went to work to make Bruno Happen! That got "YOU" the users out a lot of distress. As many people did not want their names mentioned as to what they contributed, that was respected. Eric pointed a finger at me and gave information as to a part of the hardware I donated.
Needless to say there were many emails, and hours spent making sure that everything was compatible in building Bruno. Thank You, for those that offered what did not fit the need, I know it was generous jesture however there was nothing that could have been done with what was offered.

Over the years, I was berated for spending time in explaining what was happening and why users should contribute. That included the time to "catch" Eric to see what was happening and other things that users might not understand. I sanitized many of the phone conversations so that you would have information.

When You spend 3 years doing that, it wears on you. Thus I have not been as active as I have in the past. My Bad! Seti, Still need our Help. Without starting I have 40 computers that I paid for and the electricty to run them conversation... I would say that 38 machines and a couple of donations (for balance) might be more ideal. I have balanced what I have, with what I Can Do. That is all that is asked.

If half of the "active user" could donate a simple $10 then this would not be an issue.

If we look at the UCB takes 11% of the donation which covers floor space, electricty and part of the wages... Then it is tougher to get past the cost of the electricty that the servers use. That 11% is a "very good deal."

I have seen the part about "accountability" or the reporting of where the funds go. UCB Finance, is in charge of "accountability." They release records to no one other than parties that need that information. If we look at the donations for the past two years which do not meet the budget... Do you really need to see all that RED...

Seti has been living on borrowed time for a long time. It is those "continued" small donations every month that has kept it alive. Needless to say there needs to be more.

There is more, but this is enough for now.

I am here to find ET...

Regards
Pappa

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Please consider a Donation to the Seti Project.

Thanks Pappa for your input. Just to ease everyones mind. The State of California keeps a VERY CLOSE EYE ON THE NONPROFIT ORGINATIONS HERE.
Sorry I had to shout.

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Pluto will always be a planet to me.

Seti Ambassador
Not to late to order an Anni Shirt

The State of California keeps a VERY CLOSE EYE ON THE NONPROFIT ORGINATIONS HERE.

Trying to figure out how to get their hands on the money? :-)

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PROUD MEMBER OF Team Starfire World BOINC

Just out of curiosity - how much does a server like Bruno cost (not in maintenance costs per say, but just to purchase a server like Bruno...or the current-day equivalent)?

I would be more than happy to donate, however I am currently a student (one more year left on my Master's)...after that SETI can happily have some of my money :-).

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@Perryjay Lol actually no, but to keep them honest.

@Frank0051 that would be a question Luke might be able to answer. He is the hardware specialist.

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Pluto will always be a planet to me.

Seti Ambassador
Not to late to order an Anni Shirt

There are options for single use credit/debit cards if you feel insecure about using a normal card from your bank. PayPal did offer their Secure Card at one time and I used it a great deal - but that program is no longer offered from my understanding.

If people really want to donate to S@H (which I have) then their diligence to do just that will prevail no matter what method is employed.

I understand that the motivation to not utilize PayPal as a method was because of the rate at which PayPal was taxing a non-profit entity for each transfer.
Todd

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Although the concept of 'pay to play' on Seti has been floated from time to time, and is impossibly odious and against all concepts that Boinc and the Seti project are founded on....

There is one variant that has also been suggested that I could possibly support.
And I understand that this would risk separating Seti users into 'classes', with the inevitable gnashing of teeth that it would entail. Much as the discussion of green stars erupts here once in a while. So take this as constructive thinking, with the usual caveats about not putting anybody down who contributes in whatever way they desire to.....

A 'donor users group' or something along those lines. If you make an annual monetary donation to the project at a certain level, your client is keyed to get preferential treatment in receiving work to process.

Maybe a faster server, a separate download link, jumping to the head of the line in the scheduler queue, whatever would assure that, as one who has paid up front to keep the head end of the project going, you have the best chance at getting as much work as you can process for the project.

Surely those of us who have or are investing $1000.00's of dollars in top notch computers or $100.00's a pop for GPU cards could afford a C note a year to help assure that we should get work to process on them.

I would jump on that bandwagon right away.

Of course, it would not buy us the right to become indignant if and when the project is down due to events beyond their control....NO arguments about 'oh, I paid for access, and now I can't get any work' kinda BS.

But when things are working properly...should not those who have a direct financial stake in supporting the infrastructure have some benefits attached to it? I think it would also spur some who now sit on their wallets to let a few moths out once a year....LOL.

(Wanders back to the bedroom to change the kitties into their little flameproof suits....)

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

I would be in favor of ANY PLAN that would result in a higher user donation rate of 0.23%.

That figure should be embarrassing to anyone who sees it.

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Boinc....Boinc....Boinc....Boinc....

I would be in favor of ANY PLAN that would result in a higher user donation rate of 0.23%.

That figure should be embarrassing to anyone who sees it.

That figure is relative to the total number of user accounts. Restated as a percent of active users it becomes nearly 1.5% which still isn't great. That's with Boincstats definition of active, some granted credit in the last 30 days.

Many of us have tried to think of ways to get those who believe searching for ETI is worthwhile to contribute at least something. The minimum $10 which UC Berkeley can accept is probably a hindrance to many, conversion fees and such a hindrance to those not in the U.S., but I suspect the main issue for many is that requests for donations don't happen to arrive just when they are feeling generous.

                                                                  Joe

Just discovered lunatics have made it possible to donate to Seti using PayPal.

Just discovered lunatics have made it possible to donate to Seti using PayPal.

Sorry to deflate your enthusiasm, but if you read the first couple of lines:

PAYPAL DONATIONS SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Pending discussions with Seti@Home staff, the Paypal form has been disabled. Sorry. -jonnyv

you'll find it isn't currently available. Unfortunately, that has been true for almost three years now.

Well crap :) Someone should update that site...

Well crap :) Someone should update that site...

I am sure it costs someone to post the transactions, I believe Pay Pal charges me about 3%...

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Official Abuser of Boinc Buttons...
And no good credit hound!