! SKIP Book Kickstarter (April 2021)

Please help me understand: the campaign says, "$59,572 pledged of $8,860 goal." Was $8,860 not the goal? (I guess it is not, since you are saying it is stuck; so what is the target goal?)

$8860 was the goal. We are funded. The book is going to exist.

If we bring in more, we get more books into more brains, and the extra funds go to other projects. So we wish to proceed, if we can.

For those that have participated in some of our past kickstarters, we did manage to hit a lot of stretch goals, making the rewards package very heavy. We hope to ahieve that again this year, but with all new stretch goals.

Does this help?

paul wheaton wrote:Anybody have more reasons?

paul wheaton wrote:stretch ....  stretch ....  stretch ....  


.....   so close ...  

paul wheaton wrote:

  - subsidizes the development of the free SKIP program software

paul wheaton wrote:stretch ....  stretch ....  stretch ....  


.....   so close ...  

Nicole Alderman wrote:I couldn't resist meme-ing!

Ha, I love that!  I wish someone had “SKIP-slapped” me as a teenager so I wouldn’t pay for college to eventually get a soul sucking job and then later wish I’d done things very differently!  I’m hoping to help others avoid my path with this book. If only we could send stuff back to our younger selves...BAM!!!

Carla Burke wrote:I'm having to budget, and can only back so much at a time. So, if I go up a level at a time, will that still get me there, before it's over, for all the things??? I'm at the$25 level now (plus the $10 shipping, because I wanna hold it in my hands). In a week or so, I should be able to go up to the $45 level, but it might be a couple more weeks, before I can push up to the $65 level. Am I going to be too late, too get in on it?

This paul the profiteer.  

In 1994 I was the author of some very popular software.  I was contacted by a guy that worked for a non-profit.  He asked me to make a long list of modifications to my software and give it to him, for free, because it was for a non-profit.  It struck me that he was being paid handsomely to make the phone call and I was being paid nothing.  Further, if he was not being being paid, he would contribute nothing to the non-profit.  

I suspect that there are tens of thousands of non-profit organizations that claim to do what permies.com does, but they don't do even 1%.  And somehow, their operating capital is 100 times more than all of my empire, with a director making a professional wage.

I live off of my old passive income, most of which funds projects.  I've done the math and learned that I keep about 80 cents per hour. Permies.com runs in the red and is managed entirely by volunteers.  The SKIP program and the SKIP book is created entirely by volunteers.  Any leftover kickstarter income goes to projects.

How do non profit organizations operate? Grants? Donations? Fund raisers? Fancy parties? Maybe if I understood any of that, we would have a ten times stronger forward velocity. But I'm just not wired that way.

The kickstarters provide funding to cover the server bill at permies.com, development of software enhancements (including for SKIP) and all the projects at wheaton labs.  Even our events at wheaton labs are heavily subsidized by the kickstarters.  

At the same time, I see other kickstarters and they are asking for $100 for something that they intend to sell later for $60.  Their $10 level is some sort of vague "warm thoughts in your general direction."  And they get millions.  I am baffled.  

I think that the $10 level on the SKIP kickstarter not only provides you with the product, but about $100 of really substantial stuff. So much stuff, that even if we gave the SKIP book away for free later, you still did better backing the kickstarter than not.  

I suppose you could say that this is our annual fundraiser.  The more that comes in, the stronger our forward velocity for the year.  Last year there were thousands of non-profits that had an operating budget over $20 million.  Our kickstarter, last year, brought in $97k (and kickstarter takes 10% of that).  After project expenses, we had enough to put in a new well.  

I'm a little surprised that I have ended up in charge of so much stuff that is making such a big difference.  And I am a little worried that I am doing this all wrong.  But this path just seems "more right" to me.  

More about the profit in non-profit here:

  https://permies.com/t/25373

The mission of wheaton labs:

  https://permies.com/t/24216

The all-free SKIP programs:

  https://permies.com/wiki/skip-pep-bb

Our kickstarter:

  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulwheaton/skip-0?ref=9tqtnd

I wish to further improve our forward velocity.  Will you tell me how I can do this better?  

  https://permies.com/wiki/skip-book

Mike Haasl wrote:A quick note to all the people pursuing PEP.  I just wanted to let you know that since the kickstarter launched, Paul and I are getting contacted by Otises and Otessas.  THEY ARE OUT THERE.  Some are anxious to make a connection since time might be a bit short.

So if you are pursuing PEP with the intent to inherit property, you might want to accelerate your speed.  Hint hint

I'm just guessing but I suspect if you get to PEP2 and are flexible with where you want to live you will be in a very good position.  No guarantees, of course.

I know of Otises in the US, Canada and Europe so far...

Rarna Vanda wrote:Hi, can someone tell me if this skip book includes Europe, or is it just for American permaculture people?

Mike Haasl wrote:The SKIP program is available to anyone world wide.  The SKIP kickstarter is definitely available world wide.  The 1000+ skills in the book are oriented somewhat towards what Paul thinks is important to permaculture in Montana at his site.  Luckily most of those skills are applicable anywhere in the world.  Does that help?

Mike Haasl wrote:Hi Rarna, I'm aware of landowners that are looking for new people to take over their land in the US, Canada and Europe.  There is no limitation on where the people live as far as SKIP is concerned.

Mike Haasl wrote:I just posted this elsewhere (PEPper motivation) and thought it was worth pasting in here:

Mike Haasl wrote:A quick note to all the people pursuing PEP.  I just wanted to let you know that since the kickstarter launched, Paul and I are getting contacted by Otises and Otessas.  THEY ARE OUT THERE.  Some are anxious to make a connection since time might be a bit short.

So if you are pursuing PEP with the intent to inherit property, you might want to accelerate your speed.  Hint hint

I'm just guessing but I suspect if you get to PEP2 and are flexible with where you want to live you will be in a very good position.  No guarantees, of course.

I know of Otises in the US, Canada and Europe so far...

Lisa Brunette wrote:Interesting to hear, Mike. Do you have data to back up Paul's claim in the Kickstarter description of "millions" of these Otises? I'm on board already as a backer, but I wondered about that. I'm posting a promo on the Kickstarter to my blog soon and want to be prepared for questions. Thanks!