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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
 Posted - 09/27/2009 : 19:44:15
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Hi everyone,
(This is the post that I've been waiting a long time to make...  )
I have some great news: TMS will soon have its own nonprofit! There is still a tremendous amount to learn about this stuff, but I thought that I would let you all know what is going on.
The original impetus for creating the nonprofit came from the TMS wiki. Throughout the life of the wiki, I think that some people have wondered if there was a hidden agenda to make money. The people at this forum trust the wiki because of the work of its members to raise the profile of TMS -- for example, we've organized several free online events, given talks at annual events, and are helping to organize a national TMS conference. However, the average person who doesn't know anything about TMS and finds us through Google may wonder if they can trust us or if we are just using fake claims of easy miracle cures to make money. This is a huge shame, because it seems vitally important to reach that type of person. Learning about TMS could change their lives in a big way. We all know this, right?
This idea was driven home to me recently when the Director of Corporate Communications of a large corporation volunteered some of his time to look at the wiki and give us some suggestions (this was through Peg's and my work helping to organize the next TMS conference). He said that concerns about a hidden moneymaking agenda are exactly what we need to worry about. His advice was that we need to make sure that people know that we are not some sort of money making operation and that our only intention is to help other people who are going through what we went through (or what we are still going through).
I think that dispelling these concerns is crucial to the effectiveness of the wiki. Our readers know that we understand them because they know that we have been through exactly what they are going through. However, if they think that we are just spreading the word about TMS for financial gain, that credibility vanishes. Are we saying it because we really believe it, or are we just saying it for the money?
It has never been my intention to make money off of the wiki. The best way to make that clear is, I think, to transfer control of the wiki over to a nonprofit organization. It will take a long time, but we hope to achieve full 501(c)(3) status, at the state, national, and even international levels. I have consulted with the other main editors of the wiki (HilaryN, Pandamonium, Matthew, and Peg), and we are all quite excited about the idea.
So why do I also call this “a nonprofit for TMS?” This goes back to the actual mission of the wiki. When we created a mission statement for the wiki a little while back, we identified two core missions for it. The first, of course, was to create a wiki, and make information available that otherwise wouldn’t be available. The second core mission "is to become a hub of TMS activism by organizing and mobilizing a community of TMS activists. With multiple mailing lists, regular teleconferences among the main activists, and good relationships with both TMS professionals and TMS activists, we are in a unique position to organize lay-led TMS activism. Examples of this include the wiki itself, our Success Stories - Live Panel, our work organizing the next TMS conference, our "Ideas for Promoting TMS Awareness" page, our support group teleconference, our Q&A with an Expert program, and various services that we have created for TMS professionals."
Therefore, it seems quite natural to make the nonprofit be a general TMS nonprofit rather than just being for the wiki. The more good we can do, the better.
In terms of board members, I’ve asked Dr. Schubiner and Dr. Clarke (click here for a TMSHelp Forum thread about Dr. Clarke’s book), and they've both agreed. The number of nonprofessional (i.e. just normal people like you and me) people on the board will probably depend on how the nonprofit is structured, and that is still up in the air. However, I've asked TMSHelp users HilaryN, Peg, and Pandamonium to be board members, and everyone has agreed. Since I founded the wiki, it makes sense that I will be a board member as well.
For those who don't know, the wiki doesn't sell anything and has no income. It's only expenses are the $20 that I pay every month so that the site can be ad-free and the $20 per month that Matthew has recently been paying for the software that we will use for the TMS Success Stories - Live Panel Event. Eventually, we will want to apply for some grants so that we can expand our operations, but in the short run, I actually even feel a little lucky to make my monthly donation. It feels like I'm doing something very special. I suspect that Matthew feels the same way.
We have all greatly appreciated everyone's support on the wiki, and would, of course, love your feedback and advice. It’s vitally important that we get as many viewpoints as possible going forward. In particular, what do you think is the most important thing that we should be working on?
Also, if any of you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.
Forest
tmswiki.org |
Edited by - forestfortrees on 09/27/2009 20:43:46 |
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Capn Spanky
112 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2009 : 10:18:54
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Forest,
I commend you, Peg, Hillary, Pandamonium, and the others for the good work you are doing with the wiki and now the nonprofit. It is very important stuff and I hope you are proud of yourselves! You probably don't get the credit you deserve around here, but I know many of us greatly appreciate everything you're doing!
As you've already noted, I think it's very important for newcomers to understand that there is no profit motive associated with the wiki, no advertising allowed, and that no one in the nonprofit is receiving a salary or compensation for their time. The purpose is solely to help those who are suffering with pain or illness. With that in mind, I would suggest putting wording to that effect front and center on the website/wiki and in any promotional materials that go out.
As far as what you should be working on, in my opinion you guys are pretty much on the right track. And that is, getting the word out to the public. Focus on that and you're going to help a lot of folks who need it. |
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pandamonium
United Kingdom
202 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2009 : 14:27:20
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Thanks Capn Spanky for your very kind words.
It is really important to us be transparent, and achieving non profit status will help with that.
For instance if we try and advertise any of our events (such as the Live Panel on the 11th Oct) on other websites, the advert may be removed as they suspect we are selling something. Once they know we are a charity they will be more accepting of us I hope.
Panda
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A beginner's guide to psychology: If it's not your mum's fault.... it's your dad's... |
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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
Posted - 09/30/2009 : 11:07:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Capn Spanky
As you've already noted, I think it's very important for newcomers to understand that there is no profit motive associated with the wiki, no advertising allowed, and that no one in the nonprofit is receiving a salary or compensation for their time. The purpose is solely to help those who are suffering with pain or illness. With that in mind, I would suggest putting wording to that effect front and center on the website/wiki and in any promotional materials that go out.
Great advice, Capn, thank you very much. And the point is really worth emphasizing. The TMS Wiki is really not about making money. It's about the joy that you feel when you realize that the pain that has ruling your life for years (or--in my and several other people's cases--for decades) is really only TMS and can be successfully treated. It's about wanting to share that joy with other people.
It's not just that the wiki doesn't sell anything... We actually have no income! This is pretty easy for us to do because all of the services that we use are either free or extremely cheap. I've paid about $20 to register two domain names, and I pay $20 per month so that the wiki doesn't have any ads. An attorney friend of a TMS therapist in LA donated some time time to look at our disclaimer and give us some feedback, so that didn't cost anything. My girlfriend's mother is a CPA, so I can get tips from her and my girlfriend is on the boards of two nonprofits, so I can get more advice through her contacts. I've also bought a pair of books about starting nonprofits off of Amazon. Beyond that, MatthewMJ from the tms_support Yahoo group has bought a $20/month subscription to Dimdim that we'll be using in the patient panel that Peg just announced on TMSHelp. Those are our only expenses, so we are really don't need much money to accomplish our goals.
Some people have said that they feel bad that I pay to have the ads removed or that Matthew pays for Dimdim. However, I feel really lucky, actually, to have been able to make that donation. Normally I try to donate every year to a couple of charities that I really like. For example, I really like what Heiffer international does (http://www.heifer.org/). I may donate a little less to them for a while, but I'm sure that my wallet will do fine.
Is it worth it? Well, last month, 109 different people visited our "An Introduction to TMS" page. That's 109 people who we may have introduced to TMS. Suppose just one in ten of them actually follows through and cures their TMS. That's 10 people who we may have helped save from some very unnecessary suffering--just in the last month.
That seems worth it to me!
Does anyone else have any feedback? I'm very interested in hearing your ideas.
Forest
tmswiki.org |
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stefan
56 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2009 : 23:14:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Capn Spanky
You probably don't get the credit you deserve around here, but I know many of us greatly appreciate everything you're doing![/i][/b]
Thanks for keeping TMS awareness alive and well!
Ars Longa Vita Brevis |
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Gibbon
United Kingdom
138 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2009 : 15:29:44
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Hiya,
One way of raising money is to have a voluntary donation from members on the forum - i post on the JREF forum, and they raised $10,000 in a week (admittedly it's somewhat larger than this one). They told members precisely what the money was going towards, set up a paypal, and all members who donated got a little "donator" pic underneath their username (if they wanted one....)
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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2009 : 13:06:41
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Thanks a lot for the support, guys! I was feeling a little down about not getting more feedback about it, so I appreciate everyone's support.
Thanks for the fundraising idea, Gibbon. Peg was thinking about selling "Sarno Rocks!" T-Shirts and hats as a way to raise funds to support the next TMS conference. What amazes me at this point is how little money we actually need to do what we do. What we really need at this point is people who are willing to contribute their ideas energy to help with projects, like the live panel that Matthew and Peg are running. At the present moment there is so incredibly much to do on the wiki, that we tend to focus on that. As I mentioned elsewhere, book reviews are a terrific way to contribute. MizLoriNJ has mentioned that she might write up some notes from a Louise Hays conference to add to her profile and I've asked for permission to include a link to it in our "So You Think You Might Have TMS" page. PrCalDude has a lot of interesting thoughts about how he recovered using Scott Murray and Ellie Van Winkle's ideas and has mentioned the idea of adding a page about them. I think that a nice easy to read and easy to update description of those ideas would help a lot of people, and we could certainly feature it on our home page so that lots of people get to read it.
Incidentally, CapnSpanky's original suggestion (above) was very influential in designing the new draft of the wiki's home page. We mention that there is absolutely no profit motive very prominently. We'd love everyone's feedback on the idea, too. You can find the two leading designs here:
http://tmswiki.wetpaint.com/page/post+teleconf+6
http://tmswiki.wetpaint.com/page/Post+Teleconf+2
I personally prefer the top one, but Panda and Flutterby prefer the bottom one. Would love your thoughts.
Forest
tmswiki.org |
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pandamonium
United Kingdom
202 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2009 : 04:16:10
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I use the snowheads forum a lot (it's about skiing and bording) and they take donations similar to what Gibbon describes.
They have tags attached to users depending on the amount of posts they have made (similar to the star system on here). But they also have tags associated with any dontation they have made towards the cause eg:
'snowHead' 'super-snowHead' 'mega-snowHead' you can get any one of these tags depending on how much you have donated, even as low as a one-off donation of £5 (10$).
Maybe worth thinking about at some point...TMSer, Super-TMSer, Mega-TMSer...
But (and it's a big BUT) it is very low key on snowheads, I hate websites that seem to have a "donate here" or "paypal" button on every page. The wiki is about helping people find information easily and quickly and helping each other first and foremost.
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A beginner's guide to psychology: If it's not your mum's fault.... it's your dad's... |
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Gibbon
United Kingdom
138 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2009 : 11:51:35
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I agree that any fundraising from forum members is best kept low key. You're simply providing a chance to support TMS awareness [there's the marketing pitch!]
Other ideas:
bulk purchase of MBP - distribution to influential parties [GPs, lawmakers] or indeed perhaps even a distribution system for people who visit the forum for the first time? For example saying that there are free copies to send if people register their names/addresses - and if people receiving them get better they make a [verbal] commitment to provide enough for the distribution of [say] 5 more books....
looking into keyword purchasing on google? How much does it cost to get an ad for the forum when you type in key words? "RSI" "back pain" etc. ?
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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2009 : 14:07:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Gibbon
For example saying that there are free copies to send if people register their names/addresses - and if people receiving them get better they make a [verbal] commitment to provide enough for the distribution of [say] 5 more books....
Another great idea... I started a pilot page for the project here. Here's what it says:quote:
Would you like to try reading one of Dr. Sarno's books, but wonder if it will work and aren't sure if you want to spend the money? There is a program where a copy can be sent to you for free. We call this program "Pay It Forward."
To be eligible for this program, you must have serious chronic pain that you believe might be TMS and you must have never read any of Dr. Sarno's, Dr. Schechter's, Dr. Brady's, or Dr. Clarke's books. You must also promise that if you experience a significant decrease in your pain, you will participate in this program as a donor, sending a book to between 1 and 5 other people. We'll trust you to decide if you are eligible and we trust you to decide whether you should send the book to any other people.
This is a pilot project, with three books provided by various editors of the wiki. If you feel that you are eligible, please log into the wiki and post below, (where it says, "Start a New Thread As") and someone will respond to your request. Sign up now... what have you got to lose?
I'd be happy to supply the first 3 books (I figure that Sarno saved me thousands in medical bills, so I don't mind), but I also have a couple people who have volunteered to make donations. I haven't accepted any donations yet since we don't yet need them, but I could tap them for this if and when the time comes. The page could be linked to from our "So You Think You Might Have TMS" page, which gets a lot of traffic, which could really jump start the program.
quote:
Originally posted by Gibbon
looking into keyword purchasing on google? How much does it cost to get an ad for the forum when you type in key words? "RSI" "back pain" etc. ?
My family runs a small business, and I handle this for them. My bet is that it would cost about $4.00 per click (you pay whenever someone clicks on the ad). I could see us maybe doing this down the line, depending on how donors and the members of the board feel about it.
Do others think that the "Pay It Forward" program might work, or am I being too idealistic? If you do, we can definitely make it happen.
Forest
tmswiki.org |
Edited by - forestfortrees on 10/08/2009 14:08:57 |
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Gibbon
United Kingdom
138 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2009 : 14:57:29
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I definitly think the "pay it forward" thing is worth a go, it's difficult to gauge whether it would be a success or not....I'd be inclined to suggest that the verbal commitment was for 2+ books if there was a noticeable decrease of pain, that way you only need a 50% success/return rate.....
I like the altruistic idea of the scheme - it negates any ideas that the TMS stories are just a clever marketing scam for Dr Sarno's books....when i was first searching on the internet i was a bit suspicious that they might be....maybe i'm just too sceptical for my own good
Equally i think ad-words are certainly worth considering....obviously depending on cost and effectiveness - i've no idea how much extra traffic they generate......
I'll happily donate for some books, i am probably going to buy a few copies myself to try and distribute around. The first is going to be for my GP's surgery at which i've spoken to about 5 different GPs over 3 years with regards to RSI.....It's worth a try if it can help even one other person.
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Edited by - Gibbon on 10/08/2009 15:00:00 |
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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
Posted - 11/16/2009 : 17:49:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Gibbon
I definitly think the "pay it forward" thing is worth a go, it's difficult to gauge whether it would be a success or not....I'd be inclined to suggest that the verbal commitment was for 2+ books if there was a noticeable decrease of pain, that way you only need a 50% success/return rate.....
I like the altruistic idea of the scheme - it negates any ideas that the TMS stories are just a clever marketing scam for Dr Sarno's books....when i was first searching on the internet i was a bit suspicious that they might be....maybe i'm just too sceptical for my own good
Equally i think ad-words are certainly worth considering....obviously depending on cost and effectiveness - i've no idea how much extra traffic they generate......
I'll happily donate for some books, i am probably going to buy a few copies myself to try and distribute around. The first is going to be for my GP's surgery at which i've spoken to about 5 different GPs over 3 years with regards to RSI.....It's worth a try if it can help even one other person.
I'm sorry for taking so long to respond to this, but there is another, potentially very exciting potential direction to take this idea. When I was at the Ann Arbor Conference, I spoke with Dr. Sarno over the phone. I asked him if he might be willing to make one of his books available using a Creative Commons License, like we use for the TMS Wiki. He suggested that he might be open to the idea.
This would be pretty mindblowingly cool. Suppose he was able to release, for example, The Mindbody Prescription under a Creative Commons License. I could scan the book in and turn it into a PDF (I have access to the equipment and would be happy to do this). I also have tons of bandwidth through the wiki and could host the book on the internet so that anyone who wanted a copy could download one.
Think about that.
Anyone who wanted a copy could download a copy of MBP and read it for free.
I haven't had a chance to follow up with him on it, but will eventually, and if it happens, it will be a gamechanger.
Forest
My story at tmswiki.org
PS.
I just made collections of videos by Monte Hueftle, Howard Schubiner, David Schechter, and John Sarno in the wiki's videos page. |
Edited by - forestfortrees on 11/16/2009 17:55:36 |
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pandamonium
United Kingdom
202 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2009 : 05:27:34
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Wow Forest, that would be amazing 
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A beginner's guide to psychology: If it's not your mum's fault.... it's your dad's... |
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Gibbon
United Kingdom
138 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2009 : 10:31:59
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sounds good.....
though i still think that there's something nice about an actual book, reading anything of any length on a screen is still a bit of a chore....
i'd be happy to put £100 up for UK books - that would be 20 books at a fiver each........
now we just need people to send them to |
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A new nonprofit for TMS and the TMS wiki
