Ayewa's budget
Based on our best guess/preliminary analysis, Ayewa's planned operations will cost about $500,000 to $600,000 per year for the English-language website.
Staff pay and benefits: Of course, most of that amount will go to pay the staff. We will need:
- a half-time CEO
- a fulltime person to handle communications and administrative tasks
- one or two people to track down climate change resources, write up descriptions of them, and keep the listings up to date
Contractors: We will need contract help as follows:
- one or two developers to maintain and improve the website
- a bookkeeper
- an accountant
- a lawyer
Other expenses we can expect are for the website hosting service, for the software and internet services we will need for our internal operations, and for miscellaneous office expenses. Our physical office space is being provided to us at no charge for now, and most work can occur off site.
How we plan to raise money
We welcome any help in connecting us with potential sustaining donors.
We will be seeking support in two ways:
- Asking our users for (very) small contributions; and
- Convincing a few large donors to provide sustaining multi-year grants.
Ayewa has a valuable contribution to make in the response to climate change, and we can't operate without funds. But our primary financial goal is to help raise money for organizations and projects that are taking direct action. We're hoping our users will support this work with enough small contributions to make this project successful, and that the process of donating may make people more engaged. But since the focus needs to be on the work and since our budget is small relative to the global economics of climate change, we think it wise to pursue sustaining financial support from donors with ample resources.
We do not intend to sell advertising on the website. We have no products for sale or services to charge for.
Current balance sheet
As of late March, 2021, Ayewa has about $1,049 in the bank. We owe $10,000 on a zero-interest, no-due-date loan from a founder. We have no other assets or liabilities.
Current expenses
As of late March, 2021, we are paying $10 a month in bank fees and $5 a month in internet hosting fees, though the latter is expected to rise to $10/month or more once the site sees any significant number of visits.
Donations to date
Ayewa has received $1,000 in donations since our inception. Funds for start-up costs and basic operations were contributed by members of the board of directors.
