The financial donors are the unsung heroes of most of our activities. Whether we like it or not, enthusiasm, volunteers and knowledge doesn’t pay the bills. Money does!
Hosting, equipment, travel, lawsuits, legal expertise and so on, all essential to our work, cost money.
Our activities and involvement(s) grew with and thanks to the donors. From just 5 enthusiasts giving between $1 and $10/month in 2015, to quite a bit more now in 2025. As the sheer size of our network grows, the need for an organizational structure also grows.
We prefer a conservative evolution of the structure – in which only the top strategic decisions are made in a strong hierarchical way, while everything else is not riddled with procedures, micromanagement and other unfun characteristics of, sadly, too many civic organizations.
What is the Donors’ Circle
The DC is the body where most donors gather to:
- Decide (including with their wallets) on projects that involve spending beyond the usual operations such as: a trip to cover an event; replacing a non-urgent piece of equipment or any other unplanned action
- Have a say in some strategic decisions – including tweaks in messaging, expansion of features, viability of a politician, community management, etc.
- Get access to a lot of archive material that can’t easily be published
- Get questions answered relatively fast from our most competent members
- Get access to extra features on the FA Members platform and
- Get access to exclusive content and stories
Access to the Donors’ Circle
As of right now, the DC gathers exclusively on FA Members, as per the decision of the Donors’ Circle itself. So the conditions to be part of the DC are as follows:
- Get an account with FA Members
- Be a confirmed donor of at least $110/year [550RON for 2025]
- Be an individual of good character or without a record with us
The conditions have to be met simultaneously. Some exceptions shall be made for individuals of extraordinary abilities or who have done a great service to our causes in some exceptional way. The second condition will be enforced automatically by the platform.
Note: You cannot “buy your way in”. Some donors are also part of other decision-making bodies of FAN, but most aren’t. Also, the third condition is also rigorously enforced. If you have a history of nagging or harassment of any kind, your application will be denied. If we stopped responding to you in the past, you don’t get to buy some of our attention.
If you meet all the three conditions and you haven’t already been invited on the platform (for those who subscribe to us via Patreon and Subscribestar – just see the first post there) – open a ticket using the Support category. Please make sure you include a valid e-mail address.
Participation in the DC is strictly voluntary and it is a privilege, not a right.