Fundraising Appeal

[Atlas Poetica]

Dear Friends of Tanka,

Last year many of you generously sent unsolicited donations to support Atlas Poetica and Keibooks during times of difficulty. Your funds were very helpful in supporting ATPO at a time when poor health has meant that I didn't have the resources to continue ATPO out of my pocket. Now, after several months, it is apparent that my health problems are not going to resolve any time soon, and that ATPO will need additional funding. I am hoping generous supporters will offer an additional $500 in funding.

Last years funds paid for equipment and services, such as a new keyboard and backup storage device, and hiring a technical assistant to debug and rebuild the website. After considerable research and consultation, it was concluded that the old website is so far outdated that it is impossible to update in an economical way and that it will be more cost-efficient to build a completely new website. I have purchased a three year contract with a new host provider, but am maintaining the old service as well so that the old website will remain in operation until the new one is ready to unveil.

The new website will run much more efficiently, with pages loading quicker, and will be accessible to mobile devices. It will be constructed to be accessible to people with disabilities, and others who use screen readers. The new website will offer a significantly better user interface with reliable service. This doesn't come cheap, and will require double the hours originally planned.

In addition, because of my own continuing health problems, I have not been able to do the work I had planned to do to prepare for the transition, so I have hired a freelancer to assist me. This is an unexpected expense on top of the planned expenses. 

And last, but not least, I need a new interruptible power supply, essentially, a large battery, that will protect my computer and devices from power surges, and provided enough power that the computer and devices can be gracefully shutdown and work in progress saved in the event of power failure. We had another power failure here yesterday, reminding me that living in a rural area as I do, brownouts and blackouts are a recurring feature.

I hesitate to ask you for funds when you have been so generous. Please know that I have been frugal in the operation of Atlas Poetica so that its modest earnings cover its routine expenses. It's the unusual expense of replacing the website and ensuring the safety of the system that exceeds the revenues generated. 

If you are inclined to donate, you may do so via our PayPal account at Keib...@gmail.com. If you do so, you can select the 'Friends and Family' option so that it will not charge us to receive your gift. For those of you who are able, thank you for any help. I believe that once this is resolved, it will not be necessary to seek assistance again. 

We are unable to receive checks because I only have a personal bank account; the funds involved in ATPO are usually small and don't warrant the expense of a business account.

PayPal: Keib...@gmail.com

If unable to make a donation, purchase of our books and journals to give to friends, libraries, and schools is always helpful.

Again, thank you for your generous praise and financial support in the past. I look forward to continuing Atlas Poetica and our ancillary projects for many years to come.

Cordially,

~K~

M. Kei

Editor and Publisher

Atlas Poetica 

Keibooks

 

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M. Kei
Editor, Atlas Poetica
A Journal of World Tanka

AtlasPoetica.org

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