Money has always been the primary challenge in my life. When I was younger, I could plan to do things the "regular" way... but I don't have that option anymore. I have been praying about alternatives that would help Working Together in this day, within my abilities and resources... which are very little.
I don't understand why my past efforts haven't born fruit, but there have been a lot of problems along the way. It is my experiences with poverty and the church that moved me to create something that would help others in the future. It is my continued poverty that has kept me from finding a way through to getting Working Together operational. As a for-profit enterprise, there were no start-up grants I could qualify for, and I couldn't offer tax receipts for donations. In order to pass it on later, I couldn't offer ownership for funding. There are many different aspects to this long journey that can't be explained here.
You may remember my sharing that I tried to find traditional funding in the beginning, then went to a University to try to get a degree that would help me obtain funding or operate WT better, and then I tried to find a way to sell products to fund its needs. In between these efforts, I had to let it lie dormant as I dealt with serious family issues, homelessness, and many other issues.
This year, I have been trying to revise and update my webpage for 2015 and beyond, but many other associated problems still exist. Trying to raise funds to live on, I established an Etsy shop and worked on what else I could sell to earn income within my food stamp only income.
The other night I finally entered a Twitter post about Working Together, maybe one at Facebook -- I can't remember. Twitter doesn't have enough space to say much. I was thinking I could start a "JOIN WORKING TOGETHER" campaign somehow, like I tried to find a "crowd-funding" opportunity through my fiverr.com/work2gather account... using a TIP gig. I am working on the new pricing for MEMBERSHIP, and a new PayPal sales link for it, so I hope to learn how to post those on my social media accounts and other places. It would be nice to receive wages from Working Together (finally!). Even though everyone in Working Together will only be paid $15/hour (or the regional equivalent)... for me, that would be a fortune.
Membership is the real foundation of Working Together.
It will be the link that connects us -- the way we can all share important information and resources as the future brings prophesied changes to our lives. CORD will also link our resources, through business, church, ministry, and organizational information sharing.
I realize that many Christian enterprises and ministries may try to mimic my plans for Working Together. I haven't decided what to think about this. I can't reach everyone, but it is critical for us to meet in ONE place. Online efforts will only work as long as they are available. At the same time we need to create regional spaces to provide local access and ongoing resources for when there is no travel, no internet, no global connection opportunities. Local services are the main goal for membership...it is the only fair way to make them available when there will be more need than anyone can meet.
I am working out a new budget for various program fees and benefits,
including Membership.
including Membership.
Again, I am hoping GOD will bring people to me as members to build a support income and growth options. Lifetime Memberships would help greatly, whether Christian or Public Memberships. One year Membership are currently the most affordable, and I may re-institute my TRIAL Membership for a brief time.
Each Membership has its own benefits.
I will let you know as soon as it is all finished. Let me know if you are interested so I can contact you with the details later. For now, they will be available thru PayPal, but I am trying to fit them into other online sales venues. The costs change with each sales option, so I have to make sure the fees are covered, and the benefits will still be available.
Lots of other changes are being considered...including my blogging structure and commitments. TIME is the great decider. Until I can afford to hire help, it's only me.
