On 23 April 2008, The TalkBoard unanimously passed:
Moved by kokonutz and seconded by Jenbel:
that the following FT Cares Guidelines be adopted and published:
FlyerTalk Cares
FlyerTalk Cares is the charitable arm of the FlyerTalk community. It exists in two forms:
1) FlyerTalk Cares - The General Fund
The general fund is used to focus and bundle FT charitable contributions for an overwhelmingly popular cause (eg, tsunami relief, etc).
When you donate to the general FlyerTalk Cares fund of FlyerTalk, 100 percent of your donation goes toward the TalkBoard's charitable programs of choice. FlyerTalk has always covered the expense of credit card transactions - meaning that if you donate $25 to FlyerTalk Cares - the entire $25 will go to the program that the TalkBoard decides needs our support. Many web sites that collect funds for donations via a credit card charge two to five percent or even more to process the payments. FlyerTalk pays the processing cost in support of our members' donations. Just like we all come together to post on FlyerTalk to create the best travel Web site on the Internet, we all work together creating programs that make a difference in the lives of others.
FlyerTalk Cares - The General Fund solicitations are generally made on a FlyerTalk-wide basis, are generally only made and dispersed once a specific cause or charity has been identified and are generally in response to globally-scaled events/causes.
To donate to the FlyerTalk Cares General Fund please visit
www.flyertalk.com/cares
2) FlyerTalk Cares – Our Members’ Efforts
Our members are constantly involved in local and international efforts to raise awareness in a myriad of areas including but not limited to programs that:
- benefit children,
- benefit the arts,
- benefit literacy and education,
- benefit health and medical research,
- improve the quality of and access to basic human services.
FlyerTalkers involved in these types of efforts may apply for to the TalkBoard for permission to solicit support for charitable endeavors from other FlyerTalkers on the forums of FlyerTalk.
The TalkBoard has established application, approval and posting guidelines to help facilitate this process.
Once approved, posters may post a thread about their charities/fundraising event and solicit support on FlyerTalk following the standards established by the TalkBoard.
FLYERTALK CARES- OUR MEMBERS EFFORTS: APPLICATION PROCESS.
Is there a charitable organization you would like to promote on FlyerTalk?
Send a PM to a TB member including the following information and we will review your request. If approved, you will be allowed to start a thread announcing your active participation in the cause or event.
Please note: Not all requests will be approved. If your request is approved you are required to strictly adhere to the FlyerTalk Cares-Our Members Efforts posting guidelines.
Please provide:
Your Name.
Your FlyerTalk User Name.
Your Email.
The name of the charity/event you'd like to solicit support for on FlyerTalk.
A brief description to what this charity does.
The charity/event’s website.
Your affiliation with that charity.
Any personal financial benefit you stand to gain from your participation in the charity/event.
Where on FlyerTalk you intend to post your solicitation and why that is the most appropriate forum.
What you will be asking other members of FlyerTalk to do with regard to this charity.
Any further information that will assist the TalkBoard in evaluating your request.
FLYERTALK CARES- OUR MEMBERS EFFORTS: APPROVAL PROCESS.
Once an application has been received, a TalkBoard member will investigate the request and the charity/event and report to the full TalkBoard on their findings. You may be contacted for additional information or input during this process.
During the approval process the TalkBoard will consider the appropriateness of the specified forum that the solicitation is proposed to be placed in and may consult that forum's moderators as part of such consideration. As a result of this process the TalkBoard may require that the thread by placed in a different forum than the one proposed in the application. Requesters should therefore provide as thorough an indication as possible as to why a solicitation thread is best suited for a particular forum.
If, after this investigation and consideration, a motion is made and seconded on the TalkBoard to approve your request there will be 7-day vote and if a simple majority approve the motion then approval is granted.
Please note: TalkBoard members are free to apply whatever standard they see fit in voting to allow or not allow a requested solicitation on FlyerTalk. Generally, however, TalkBoard members will post on the public TalkBoard forum their reason for voting as they do.
FLYERTALK CARES- OUR MEMBERS EFFORTS: POSTING GUIDELINES
Once a solicitation is approved by the TalkBoard the person making the request is free to post a single thread in the forum named on the solicitation application announcing their charity/event and encouraging FlyerTalkers to participate in that charity/event.
The title of the thread must begin "FLYERTALK CARES:" and include the name of the charity/event being supported.
A link to these threads will be added to the FT Cares-Our Members Efforts list with a link to the solicitation thread made by the requesting poster.
In addition, any one who has submitted a successful charitable request may make a post on the Flyetalk Cares-Our Members Efforts master sticky thread in the Communitybuzz Forum detailing their charity and where their thread can be found elsewhere on FT. This master list thread serves the dual purpose of a consolidated list/directory summarizing the solicitations in the sponsoring Flyertalker’s own words, as well as increasing the visibility of some charities which end up on some of the more specialised fora.
Please note: Other than the prohibition on solicitations, all other TOS terms apply to Flyertalk Cares solicitation threads, including strict limits on thread bumping.
The TalkBoard always appreciates feedback once the solicitation/event is over with regard to how successful the solicitation on FlyerTalk was.
If you have any questions about Flyertalk Cares, either the General Fund or the Our Members Efforts program and process, feel free to contact a TalkBoard member.