Announcement: Creation of VATSIM Inc. Non-Profit

[VATSIM]

VATSIM was founded in July 2001 by a group of individuals who came together with the idea of creating an online community which truly met the needs of flight simulator enthusiasts across the world. As well as providing a common network for flight simulation enthusiasts to connect to, VATSIM aimed to create a global community for learning, sharing experiences and pursuing new opportunities in the virtual aviation world.

That original group of individuals are referred to as the VATSIM Founders. They have held the ownership of VATSIM since its inception and helped steer the direction of the network together with the VATSIM Board of Governors, as well as help pay for many of the expenses that come with running a network like VATSIM for the past 20 plus years. That said, VATSIM’s real strength and core is the result of the countless volunteers that have contributed untold hours over the last two-plus decades that have created the leading online flight simulation network.

Now, over 20 years later, the VATSIM Founders are giving ownership of the network to the newly- formed VATSIM Inc. (a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation legally based in the United States) as part of  succession plan to ensure VATSIM prospers into the future. VATSIM Inc., led by a newly formed Board of Directors, serving two-year terms, will oversee the financial and legal aspects of VATSIM. The Board of Governors will continue the day-to-day operational oversight of the network.

By taking this step, VATSIM can grow and strengthen itself while ensuring a financially stable and healthy future. VATSIM will become more independent, with an even larger focus on education. The network will no longer be solely reliant on the selfless personal contributions of the VATSIM Founders, the VATSIM Board of Governors, and so many other valued contributors that have kept the network running for the last 20 years.

Effective immediately, VATSIM will accept charitable donations. Everyone that wishes to support the VATSIM network financially will now be able to, through donations made at

https://donate.vatsim.net 

All donations will go towards VATSIM infrastructure, maintenance, improvement, and growth of the VATSIM Network. Additionally, donations to VATSIM can be tax deductible for U.S. citizens and companies.

Donations will be handled separately from your VATSIM account; forms of payment include all major credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo or direct bank transfer. Donating is completely optional and does not entitle account holders to receive any additional benefits or services while using the VATSIM network. VATSIM will remain a free-to-use network like it has been for the past 20+ years. We are very excited to take this next big step in the future of VATSIM and, together with all of you, we will build bigger and better!

VATSIM Board of Directors & VATSIM Board of Governors

VATSIM_NPO_Announcement.pdf

[Don Desfosse]

Hi everyone,

A few facts and/or thoughts for folks to consider, three weeks into our new ability to fundraise.

At the time of this writing, our most recent CID issued is 1700488.  With the exception of a couple dozen Founders CIDs and CIDs used as part of our infrastructure, member CID issuance started at 810001, meaning we've had 890,487 people initiate a registration.  There are many of those that never confirm their registration, some that come and go, etc.  Another measure is "active registrations".  We currently show just shy of 140,000 "active" users, meaning they have registered and/or connected to the network at least once in the last 18 months.  If you shorten that to 3 months, there are roughly 30,000 active members.  

We are currently operating at a cost of roughly $12K US/year.  That is a significantly degraded service, as we've been cutting and slicing and chopping services to save money over the last year or so.  We are very new to this fundraising stuff -- not even a month in -- so are learning more each day.  That said, in order to restore some of the capability we had to cut, and thinking of slight growth/improvement, our initial projections are needing somewhere in the range of $18K/year.  You are almost correct that roughly 1% currently contribute, though, sadly, it's even less than that.  Currently only 0.75% (yes, that's only three quarters of a percent) have donated.  And very few of those, less than 20%, signed up for recurring donations.  For a more exact number, only 0.14% (or about an eighth of a percent) of our active users have set up a recurring donation to keep VATSIM running in perpetuity.  I personally find this to be an astonishingly low number for the amazing benefit the members of our community receive, but that's what the current data shows.  

If every one of our active members donated an equal share to meet our initial budget, the contribution would be sixty cents (US) per year.  However, at the current less-than-1% response rate, our current contributors, if those are the only folks/numbers we could count on donating, they would need to contribute an average of $100 per year.  We are nowhere near this.  Nor, frankly, should we be asking that much from any one person.  The alternative, of course, is to greatly increase the number of people who donate to the community.  

Currently, donations made to date account for roughly 30% of our 2023 need, most of which were made within the first five days of our call for donations, and dropped to near-zero since.  If you consider sustainability, and look at the recurring donations, we are closer to 20% of our need in order to sustain (and maybe even slightly grow/improve) VATSIM.

So, yes, we need to increase our donation rate, both in terms of size, commitment to recurring donations, and most importantly number/percentage of people in the community donating.  

Some members in our community truly can't afford to donate anything at all.  They are barely able to run a sim or a radar screen on their computer, but have a love -- many have a true passion -- for aviation.  This community is absolute life and a stepping stone toward achieving a passionate dream for those people.  Some members in our community could likely afford to donate dozens, if not hundreds, of dollars per year toward their own enjoyment as well as advancing a community filled with aviation passion and stepping stones to others' potential careers and/or passions.

We don't charge a fee; we ask for the grace and kindness and compassion, in time, talents and treasures, from those that can afford to contribute to our community and our community members' dreams.

Some have asked about our frequency of fundraising reminders/outreach.  In terms of fundraising reminders, we're 3 weeks into our new community funding opportunity/journey.  We are trying to find the right balance between too frequent outreach (which some have already accused us of), and not asking enough (which others have suggested) which could cause the organization to fail financially.  And with so many folks in the community, that balance is a little different individually.  But we're trying to find the right overall balance for the community.  We've never done this before within this community/environment.  Which isn't to say that we're completely ignorant -- we're not -- but we're trying to find the best balance with respect to community outreach for fundraising, publishing financials to give folks transparency, etc.  It will never be perfect for most folks individually, but we're working to make it at least reasonable -- if not as close to perfect as possible -- for the overall community.  And we appreciate everyone's patience as we tweak variables to help get us there.

I hope this helps add some data and some perspective.  Thanks for all you can, and do, do to keep the community strong and growing!

[Don Desfosse]

Another thought.  Many companies have a charitable contribution matching program.  My company matches my recurring donation 100%, doubling the impact of my contribution.  It also gives me the ability to make my contribution via payroll deduction or credit card, recurring or one-time.  Of course, I chose a recurring donation.  If you hadn't considered it, it may be worth a thought to see if your employer has a charitable contribution matching program.  

Of course, to all those that have, and all those that will shortly, begun donating to our phenomenal community, THANK YOU!