Celebration Fortnight — Day 1

Dear Haiku Lovers:

Once a year we make a special point of showing what we’ve been up to over the past year. If you’ve been following The Haiku Foundation’s blog Troutswirl then you know of our many exciting projects, features and archives. To start things off this year we share with you below the results of our assessment survey. A more detailed report is also available upon request.

Also once a year we ask the haiku community to help us meet our financial challenges. We reserve the period from Thanksgiving through St. Nicholas Day, the time our culture has has set aside to note our many blessings and show our appreciation. THF board member and treasurer Tom Borkowski offers this assessment of the past fiscal year:

As we approach Thanksgiving Day, and the beginning of The Haiku Foundation’s annual fundraising period through St. Nicholas Day, we thought it might be useful to take a look at our finances over the past year.

In the last year (from 01 November 2015 through 31 October 2016) THF has received a total value of $12,798.14 in donations: $8,358.55 in liquid assets, of which $2,175.00 came from our fundraiser; and $4,439.59 in donated books and other media.

Through the end of October 2016 THF has paid a total of $6,236.62 in various payments and fees, primarily for web-related service, maintenance and storage.

It is evident that our margins are extremely tight, and that the only reason we are managing to stay ahead of the curve is because all of our work other than IT services is provided free of charge by dedicated volunteers. IT service charges are scheduled to nearly double in 2017 (we need more space!), so our current level of income will not cover our expenses going forward.

We can only continue to accomplish what we have done, and what we plan to do, with your help. Thank you for your support of The Haiku Foundation.

Thank you to those of you who have already contributed. If you have not done so yet, please take this opportunity to help us continue our work — details on our donation page. Again this year we have the support of an anonymous angel who will double your donations — for every dollar you commit, the Foundation receives $2. Please help us make the most of this generous offer, and thanks in advance for your support of The Haiku Foundation, and of haiku itself. We wish you a most happy holiday season.

Jim Kacian
President, THF

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Overall Assessment: 
     March 2, 2016: THF Mission Statement
          13 respondents: 7 Outstanding, 6 Good
     March 9, 2016: Troutswirl, the THF Blog
          7 respondents: 5 Outstanding, 2 Good
     March 16, 2016: Book of the Week
          20 Respondents: 19 Outstanding, 1 Good
     March 23, 2016: THF Education Resources
          1 Respondent: Good
     March 30, 2016: Events Calendar
          7 Respondents: 4 Outstanding, 3 Good
     April 6, 2016: THF Forums
          3 Respondents: 2 Outstanding, 1 Good
     April 13, 2016: Galleries
          2 Respondents: 2 Good
     April 20, 2016: Gift Shop
          0 Respondents
     April 27, 2016: THF Haiku App
          9 Respondents: 5 Outstanding, 4 Good
     May 4, 2016: International Haiku Poetry Day
          5 Respondents: 3 Outstanding, 1 Good, 1 Fair
     May 11, 2016: Juxtapositions
          1 Respondent: Outstanding
     May 18, 2016: THF Digital Library
          6 Respondents: 5 Outstanding, 1 Good
     May 25, 2016: Old Pond Comics
          18 Respondents: 16 Outstanding, 1 Good, 1 Abandon
     June 1, 2016: Per Diem, THF Daily Haiku
          8 Respondents: 6 Outstanding, 1 Good, 1 Fair
     June 8, 2016: THF Publications
          4 Respondents: 2 Outstanding, 1 Good, 1 Fair
     June 15, 2016: THF Puzzler
          9 Respondents: 1 Outstanding, 6 Good, 1 Fair, 1 Abandon
     June 22, 2016: The Haiku Registry
          12 Respondents: 7 Outstanding, 5 Good
     June 29, 2016: The Renku Sessions
          12 Respondents: 10 Outstanding, 2 Good
     July 6, 2016: re:Virals
          10 Respondents: 8 Outstanding, 2 Good
     July 13, 2016: Social Media Day
          4 Respondents: 2 Outstanding, 2 Good
     July 20, 2016: THF Touchstone Awards
          5 Respondents: 3 Outstanding, 2 Good
     July 27, 2016: THF Website
          15 Respondents: 12 Outstanding, 2 Good, 1 Fair
     August 3, 2016: THF World of Haiku
          7 Respondents: 6 Outstanding, 1 Good
     August 10, 2016: THF Dedicated YouTube Channel
          6 Respondents: 5 Outstanding, 1 Poor
     August 17, 2016: THF Fundraising
          7 Respondents: 3 Oustanding, 3 Good, 1 Fair
     August 24, 2016: THF Future Planning
          3 Respondents: 2 Outstanding, 1 Good