Ravelry -
...and we give in. We are now accepting donations! If you are already a Ravelry user, check out our page at http://www.ravelry.com/donate.
Also, many people who have been waiting for their invite have said that they are interested in donating. That's very sweet, but we'd like to earn your support! We'll see you soon and we really appreciate your excitement.
Our dog, Bob (a Boston Terrier, thus the accent ;)
Here is our explanation - reproduced from the Ravelry donation page:
Why donate to Ravelry?
Say "Thank you!" for what we've built so far
Help us pay for the costs of running the site
Help ensure that Ravelry continues to grow and improve
Get our dog, Bob, the dental work that he so badly needs (kidding!)
What will my donation be used for?
Hey - it's me, Casey. There are two main things that we are hoping to accomplish. First, we'll use donations to pay for server costs and other expenses. I've been working very hard to make sure that we are getting the most for our money but Ravelry needs a dedicated server and this sort of thing doesn't come cheap. At the moment, this is our biggest expense cash-wise.
We're dreaming a little, but your donations could be enough to get us to work on Ravelry full-time. We didn't create Ravelry to earn some extra cash. Honestly. It wouldn't have been worth the trouble - haha. Jess and I built Ravelry because we thought that it was something that the community needed and we thought that we'd have a fun time doing it. Since mid-January, we have been working very hard building this site for you. Jess works long days editing, emailing, planning, and managing. I start coding as soon as I get home from my job and work late nights and weekends. It's really hard to keep this up and we've been wishing that Ravelry could be our "real" job. We've always dreamed of having a business together and we'd really like Ravelry to be our job.
Can't you earn money some other way?
There are many ways that Ravelry can earn money and we're hoping that we'll have the freedom to pick the options that are the best and the most fun for everybody. We've got big ideas like online and local yarn store connections and comparison shopping and smaller ideas like advertising, more book sales/commission programs, and pattern sales. Getting this site up off the ground is tough and your donations will be a huge help!