30 replies to this topic

[Lynnblac]

It is very material that the person receiving the service is charged or not charged for that service. In the same way an Astronomy course offered a college is not public outreach, pay for view astronomy is not outreach either.
Volunteers have special place in this increasing materialistic society. They know their service can have a profound impact on the public in two ways, the knowledge of the night sky they bring and the fact that they offer it freely. Two people sharing the night sky as purely curious beings. You may not understand this if you have not experienced it.

[Jim Rosenstock]

Outreach is public service, pay for view is a business.
Outreach business is an oxymoron. Do not flatter yourself.

A blunt statement, but resonant...

...but let me spin it another way: If I accept any money at all for my outreach, it deprives me of the opportunity to make a pure donation.

I would just as soon my outreach be valued as....priceless.

Cheers,

Jim

[amicus sidera]

It is very material that the person receiving the service is charged or not charged for that service. In the same way an Astronomy course offered a college is not public outreach, pay for view astronomy is not outreach either.

As I stated above, I do not consider pay-per-view as outreach. However, define "charge" - charitable, voluntary donations after the fact are not a "charge", and are not within the pay-per-view paradigm, by definition.

Volunteers have special place in this increasing materialistic society.

I could not agree with you more.

They know their service can have a profound impact on the public in two ways, the knowledge of the night sky they bring and the fact that they offer it freely.

Sharing knowledge of the night sky can indeed have a positive impact on the uninitiated public. Therefore, it is not valueless, is it? The thrust of my argument is to let those who have received value from the experience determine that value. No one is being coerced into parting with their largess if the donation is purely voluntary.

If the viewing on offer is not pay-per-view, then by definition it is free, is it not? A free offer does not preclude generosity being extended on both ends of the deal, to wit, the generosity implicit in allowing a stranger to observe through one's telescope, along with the generosity implicit in the stranger's donation of whatever sum or other consideration that he or she feels is merited by the experience.

Would I be correct in assuming that you feel that even a small donation "taints" the "purity" of the exchange? If so, I believe that further discussion will prove fruitless.

Two people sharing the night sky as purely curious beings. You may not understand this if you have not experienced it.

Enough.


eta: unnecessary comment deleted at my own behest.

[tedbnh]

It's not just about the viewing. Nobody gets away from my scope without me doing my best to teach them something that (I assume) they did not already know. I usually do that by asking them some questions about what they are seeing. (Got this advice from John Dobson himself!) From there the conversation goes wherever it goes. They are spending their time with me, and I try to make it worth their while. I would not put out a tip jar in circumstances like this.

However, when our club does one of our twelve scheduled downtown sidewalk events (one a month on Saturday night closest to first quarter moon) we do put out a "donation telescope" (made of PVC plastic with a sign identifying our club and a slot for money.) The proceeds go to the club treasury and from there to fund more outreach, scopes in schools, etc. But it's strictly voluntary.

I have also been donating private "star parties" to groups that I support, like local theater, the Maria Mitchell Association on Nantucket, etc. for their fundraising silent auctions. They get a big donation from the highest bidder, I get to go and do a star party from somebody who really is interested in the topic (max of 8 people). It's usually a dinner party followed by my indoor powerpoint presentation and then observing outside for a couple of hours. And I sometimes get invited for dinner, or at least a glass of wine, so it's a lot of fun.

A long time ago I remember reading about a guy in New Orleans who supported himself by bringing his telescope out every night. OK, it's John Brown, just found his web site: www.sidewalkastronomy.com He accepts donations, but seems to have made it a full time occupation. I somehow find this ok, he is way more dedicated than me! :-)

[ebusinesstutor]

Our club regular does public outreach in local parks. We don't have a donation jar, but we do ask everyone if they would like to be on our email list to hear about future public observing and other events. A large number sign up.

Then we use the email list to tell them about:
- our monthly events where we have a speaker
- our fundraising events
- observing nights

Our monthly events are free, but we do suggest people become members (only $20 a year) to help support our outreach. We also do annual Christmas dinners and BBQs which are fundraisers.

So our outreach is a relationship building tool that does result in more members and more donations but we don't ask for donations on the spot.

The funny thing is that once during an observing session someone threw a $5 bill into my telescope bag as a donation and I didn't notice until I went to pack up.

[amicus sidera]

(snip)The funny thing is that once during an observing session someone threw a $5 bill into my telescope bag as a donation and I didn't notice until I went to pack up.

Someone after my own heart... in the manner of Steve Martin's character in the movie My Blue Heaven, likewise, I tip everyone.