This has some disagree votes. What’s wrong with this idea?
Relatedly, probably the wrong thread but somewhat relevant, I don’t feel great about my donations to a nonprofit funding their “hotel/event venue business” (as I would call it). Is it that Lighthaven wants to offer some services to some groups/events at a discount, and donations are subsidizing this?
If so, Lightcone should probably make the case that they are cost-competitive with doing this for other event venues (e.g., donations being used to rent a Marriott or Palace of Fine Arts). There’s clearly aesthetic differences, and maybe Lighthaven is the literal best event venue in the world by my preferences. But this is a nontrivial argument. (I didn’t see this argument made in a quick skim of the 2024 fundraising post)
I don’t feel great about my donations to a nonprofit funding their “hotel/event venue business” (as I would call it)
The nice thing about Lighthaven is that it mostly funds itself! Our current expected net-spending on Lighthaven is about 10% of our budget, largely as a result of subsidizing events and projects here that couldn’t otherwise exist. I think looking at that marginal expenditure Lighthaven is wildly cost-effective if you consider any of the organizations that run events here that we subsidize to be cost-effective.
I feel confused about the notion that people only want to donate to a thing if they will be on the hook for needing to donate every year forevermore to keep it afloat, as opposed to donating to cause it to get its business in order and then it can sustain itself.
This has some disagree votes. What’s wrong with this idea?
Relatedly, probably the wrong thread but somewhat relevant, I don’t feel great about my donations to a nonprofit funding their “hotel/event venue business” (as I would call it). Is it that Lighthaven wants to offer some services to some groups/events at a discount, and donations are subsidizing this?
If so, Lightcone should probably make the case that they are cost-competitive with doing this for other event venues (e.g., donations being used to rent a Marriott or Palace of Fine Arts). There’s clearly aesthetic differences, and maybe Lighthaven is the literal best event venue in the world by my preferences. But this is a nontrivial argument. (I didn’t see this argument made in a quick skim of the 2024 fundraising post)
The nice thing about Lighthaven is that it mostly funds itself! Our current expected net-spending on Lighthaven is about 10% of our budget, largely as a result of subsidizing events and projects here that couldn’t otherwise exist. I think looking at that marginal expenditure Lighthaven is wildly cost-effective if you consider any of the organizations that run events here that we subsidize to be cost-effective.
I feel confused about the notion that people only want to donate to a thing if they will be on the hook for needing to donate every year forevermore to keep it afloat, as opposed to donating to cause it to get its business in order and then it can sustain itself.