I'm not sure this is the appropriate forum but I'd like to make a suggestion that could possibly help raise funds for the society.

Could the society periodically run competitions? They could be about a particular theme, composer or piece. A small entry fee would be charged, and there could be a symbolic prize obtained from sponsors, possibly, like a book or a Pianoteq license. The prize could also be a small cash amount, distributed through paypal possibly, maybe a percentage of the amount obtained from the entry fees.

Maybe someone has already had this idea before and it was turned down for some reason, but it occurred to me, and I thought I'd share.

Marcelo

hmmm....that is an interesting idea, Marcelo. I'll have to ponder that for awhile. Wonder who the judges would be?

The judges could be the member artists of the society. Or a pre-selected panel of judges.

You would need to advertise because having Techie, Monmon, Alf, you, and the few others who submit recordings wouldn't bee too much of a competition.

While flattered, I don't think I belong among the group you mentioned.

This(these) particular competition(s) would aim mostly at raising funds for the society and the prize would probably not be a large cash amount, so participation would be encouraged on the grounds of contributing, and not to make money.

As the Baron of Coubertin would say, It is important not to win, but to compete.

Well, I was thinking admins...but if you guys would like to enter rather than judge, I'll be a judge (if you like - no offense taken if you don't want me), since I can't afford to enter and don't have recording equipment anyway.

Having a "fundraising competition" sounds like a really neat idea... I might consider "contributing" if you all decided to do something like that.

I hugely dislike the idea of a competition here. This has been discussed before, I believe, and we always decided against it. IMO competitions are useless and unrealistic at the best of times (except perhaps as a springboard for candidate top artists), and when people don't play live but only submit recordings there is no way to properly judge it. He/she who has polished the piece the longest will probably win (which rules me out hahaha, but I don't mind that). Also, those good at editing would have an advantage, whether you like that idea or not. I would certainly be tempted to iron out more creases on the computer. And there would be endless discussions about whether an edit is audible or not.

The idea of a jury from withing the forum also does not appeal to me. I don't believe anybody here is unbiased as we know each other too well.

Lastly, I don't see how exactly this could be fundraising. Better just to donate if you have not already done so, instead of making more work.

Actually the donation program works a treat so far. Not sure whether this will be the case the following year, but there's reason to be optimistic. Seems like many people genuinely care for this site.

I see your points are well made. Anyway, it was just an idea.