As you can imagine, building this website is a lot of work. There are expenses. And I need a living, just like everyone else.
I invite you to pay what you can to help sustain this valuable resource for Rhode Island.
Providential Gardener is a d/b/a of White Lilac LLC, a Rhode Island information services company. Contributions are NOT tax deductible, but they provide continued, essential free and open access for everyone.
You can become a Patron by signing up at PATREON. Or send checks to:
Providential Gardener
PO Box 2556
Providence, RI 02906
Many thanks!
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$$$$ ~ Dollars are necessary in our economy. So Rhode Islanders who see the value of this project and who have some discretionary income can begin supporting this work, which I have been doing for more than 8 years without much remuneration from my labors.
Now that this new site is launched, I'll be adding PayPal to it soon. Public information must be freely available, but it is expensive to provide. It's very time consuming. I have imagined this site for several years, but it took a while to learn enough about Drupal to pull it off, besides getting familiar with the range of activity concerning Rhode Island's environment.
Why don't I have a "business model" yet? Business models describe how a business makes money, has a positive financial bottom line. There has to be a market for a service, and I am not sure that enough Rhode Islanders realize yet how important it is to have a comprehensive view of who does what about our state's environment and economy. Many people are concerned about environmental and economic issues, and they are working on many fronts in Rhode Island. But most people are so focused on what they are doing that they don't have the time, energy, or resources to share widely what they're doing with the entire populace, let alone grasp what other people are doing, and on top of that, how they can collaborate effectively with others who actually share their same concerns. Without a truly comprehensive index to who does what in Rhode Island, it's impossible to get a hold of what's really "growing on" in Rhode Island.
If a market develops for this service, then the business model will emerge. I'm not inclined to plaster ads all over the place, but sponsors are welcome. If your company wants to join Natural Resources Conservation Service and sponsor this website, or a section of this website, let's talk. I can continue to bootstrap this project for a while longer. If it doesn't turn into a real business, then maybe it will turn into a nonprofit, or be taken over by the state library, or disappear. So show your support in dollars and/or sharing information if you can see this is a necessary project.
Other ways to contribute ~ Here are suggestions:
- Automate your news!
- Add your events to the Calendar!
- Let me know about your group, publications, etc.
- Trade publicity, propose partnerships.
- Link to this website or some portion of it.
- Volunteer to enter information.*
*My experience running other websites is that people generally won't voluntarily or dependably enter information into their own websites, let alone some other website. And people usually expect to be paid. If I have to hire people to help with this project, expenses go up exponentially. So this website is puttering along at a pace I can maintain. Let's see if it can generate enough income to pay the basic bills, begin advertising the website, and begin to pay me a salary.
