RACKETBOY 2009 CHARITY AUCTION - THANKS EVERYONE!

[classicgamer5]

I will ship out my stuff this week, probably towards the end of the week though

[Luke]

I will ship out my stuff this week, probably towards the end of the week though

Oh Balls.

I was hoping to get my NHL on this weekend.

[dsheinem]

FYI, I will be shipping at the end of the week (Saturday) when I can actually get to the P.O. I can't do it during the week as it's too hard to carry a car seat and a shit-ton of packages at the same time - and I don't want to accidentally drop your packages (or the baby)!

[classicgamer5]

I will ship out my stuff this week, probably towards the end of the week though

Oh Balls.

I was hoping to get my NHL on this weekend.

I'll try to ship yours out today. I would ship the others out as well, but I need more mailers and boxes.

[dsheinem]

Ok - I need some opinions. I would like to send the contributions out to the charities ASAP (I'm still waiting for a few e-checks to post to PayPal and for some shipping expenses to be paid out to donors) along with a nice letter explaining all the work everyone put into the auction. I was initially hoping to pay them at the start of this week, but hadn't anticipated some payments still pending because of e-checks and some donors (understandably) needing extra time to request shipping funds. In any case, there's currently around $1000 sitting in the account since some buyers paid the charities directly and most payments have been cleared.

Here's my problem - neither charity accepts PayPal directly. I could use the Credit Card application for PayPal (assigns a CC# to the account so funds can be used in CC forms) and use each charity's online forms but the BFC form doesn't allow any place to leave a note and the NACOA form only allows for 500 characters. I want to be able to explain some of the background of the auction, let them know who all was involved, etc. I can't do this easily via a web form. It seems a more personalized approach would suit the spirit of what was done here, and I don't want it to look like the online payment is just a personal contribution from me.

So, I want to get people's viewpoint. Here's what I'm considering:

Option 1: Transfer the PayPal balance to my personal checking account and mail each charity a personal check with a detailed letter attached explaining the background of the auction, the names/addresses of the people involved, and so on. With this option I can also send the BFC contribution directly to the Colorado center's Children's Program, which is in the area where Ryan lives. This would probably be the ideal option for me, but I can understand if people aren't comfortable with this. If I do this, I will post copies of all the relevant transactions and copies of the deposited checks (which I can get from my bank's website - though I'll blur the account info) to provide maximum transparency.

Option 2: Use the CC app from PayPal, use each charity's online forms, and mail a separate letter explaining the background of the donation. My hesitancy to take this option is due to not knowing whether the people who get the letter are the same who would get the web transaction, whether they would easily put two and two together, etc.

Any other ideas? I recognize that this is potentially a sensitive issue and I want to ensure maximum transparency, and though I prefer the first option I realize that it requires a certain level of trust in me to send the check. I don't want to assume that everyone will be ok with that....so sound off!

[classicgamer5]

Option 2 because the personal check can get lost in the mail. Payment using Option 2 is guaranteed to get there. But, both have strong points, like Option 1 will let you have the better letter option.

[dsheinem]

Option 2 because the personal check can get lost in the mail. Payment using Option 2 is guaranteed to get there. But, both have strong points, like Option 1 will let you have the better letter option.

I should have mentioned that I'd pay the extra for certified mail (so that they would have to sign for it).

[classicgamer5]

Option 2 because the personal check can get lost in the mail. Payment using Option 2 is guaranteed to get there. But, both have strong points, like Option 1 will let you have the better letter option.

I should have mentioned that I'd pay the extra for certified mail (so that they would have to sign for it).

I dont really care which option, as long as they get the money

[Luke]

I will ship out my stuff this week, probably towards the end of the week though

Oh Balls.

I was hoping to get my NHL on this weekend.

I'll try to ship yours out today. I would ship the others out as well, but I need more mailers and boxes.

Yays!
Thanks man!

[classicgamer5]

Yays!
Thanks man!

Your welcome. We got some snow and school was canceled so if the road gets cleaned up, I'll ship it