LongeCity Newsletter
March 2011
March is budget month at the Immortality Institute. (In case this is still unclear, the 'Immortality Institute' and 'LongeCity' are two names for the same organisation. We now tend to use ‘LongeCity’ for general purposes, and ‘Immortality Institute’ for matters specifically related to the internal ‘Members’ section.)
We are grateful that financial support for our budget comes from membership donations and advertisers, and from friends in cutting edge technology.
Speaking of which: We are hoping to deplete our budget by spending more money on scientific research this year, but still we need your help with the current fundraiser before we can go further.
Meanwhile, even if you currently have not a penny to spare, it only takes 30seconds to help us improve the site. We would really appreciate if you could find that time this month.
Caliban
Advertisers sought
In the context of the budget review, we are currently reviewing the options for advertising partnerships at LongeCity. In recent months, we have pioneered some Member Benefits in the life-extension supplement area. Most notably this includes or partnership with Stop Aging Now, but also sponsors such as BioArmor Labs and our friends at Revgenetics helping with the community project VIMMORTAL. We hope that these and other arrangements are benefiting members while also raising some much needed cash for life extension research and activism. However, we are very aware that we don't want to 'plaster' the site with adverts or in any way diminish the impact and usability of the site.
If you have any ideas about how to improve our strategy in this area, or if you are interested in advertising on the website or on other outlets, please get in touch via support@imminst.org.
Halcyon Molecular is hiring
Founded by friends of LongecCity, Halcyon Molecular is working to transform biology into an information science. With the mission to cure diseases, extend lifespan and enhance the quality of life, this young, dynamic company, aims to make full genome sequencing universally available. The company is looking for a Helpdesk Administrator in the area of Redwood City, California. Have a look at their job advert -- if it fits your profile, I suggest you grab the opportunity with both hands, a rare chance to help make a real difference in the field.
Incidentally, while you are there, why not use the forum function to 'subscribe' to our careers forum? Even if you are not job hunting at the moment, you could help those seeking advice in that section, potentially helping a young person with some very very important decisions.
Science fundraiser update: almost 2/3 there!
The microglia stemcell fundraiser is now more than halfway complete, please consider supporting it. A couple of interesting other projects are waiting in the background, but we would have very little confidence thinking seriously about supporting further scientific work if we cannot first help to launch this exiting and important research.
http://www.imminst.org/Research2010B
Budget
March is ‘budget month’ at the Immortality Institute. By Mid-March the Treasurer will suggest how we were faring last year, and by the end of March the Board will have agreed a draft budget for the next 12 months. We will try in this to anticipate new initiatives and plans.
In this context, please note the way we deal with project suggestions: Ideas are now generally discussed in the ‘ideas’ section, and once the idea has matured into a project suggestion, it should be taken to the ’project proposals’ section. If you have any projects in mind with financial implications, you can propose them at any time, but this month would be particularly convenient for planning purposes!
Finance reports (Members only)
Member subscription changes
Changes are underway in the membership management. Last year, we had to raise the expected donation for student and unemployed members from to $25 per year. As the software allows no other option, we have had to cancel recurring subscriptions. Members who received a notification on this: your current membership status is not affected. However, a year after your last payment, the software will not automatically renew your membership, we hope that you will remember to do so manually.
Meanwhile, we are seriously considering cancelling the monthly membership option. There was always a slight risk of abuse with that system, e.g. people joining just for elections and with the great new membership benefits, this risk is now very real. More importantly, we would like this year to move to a better register of members, making sure that we know about members interests and skills where this information is shared. Such a system is only possible with annual memberships.
Members who have any thoughts on this matter please share them in the Immortality Institute section.
Do you have 30seconds to help improve the site?
LongeCity is firmly a community website. There is very little ‘official’ content, because we believe in the wisdom of groups and in the dynamics of collective action.
In the long run, visiting LongeCity is only worth your while if there are not just passive consumers but active contributors.
In this post, we share a few suggestions about what you could do in just 30 seconds to make the website better.
VOLUNTEERS
With the 'Thank You' or '₮' points-based system now up and running, volunteers and valued forum contributors receive these points based on their contributions, and can redeem these points at a 'virtual store' for fun items -- such a your own personal emoticon, or some small prizes or -- including free membership, Amazon gift vouchers, or even seed capital to start your own matching fundraiser.
If you have other ideas or suggestions regarding new initiatives, please visit the ACTION forum to share your thoughts.
ABOUT
The LongeCity newsletter is usually send out on the 8th day of each month to Members and registered forum users. You can find past newsletters here.
If you have any questions or suggestions, we would love to hear from you. Please visit http://www.logecity.org/forum/ (Log In / Lost Password?) or email support@imminst.org.
How to unsubscribe: Visit the link below and ensure that the box for 'Send me any updates sent by the board administrator' is unchecked and submit the form.
http://www.longecity.org/forum/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=core&area=notifications