FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Peter Lemkin]

Their message sounds dire....that if they don't get a certain amount they will have to shut down the website. I hope some of the high-roller dealers that have their minerals displayed there will help save an invaluable site that simply can't be lost!.....

https://www.mindat.org/donate.php

[Gail]

Hello. Jim and I serve on the board of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy that oversees Mindat. Jolyon Ralph, the founder of Mindat also serves on the board. Mindat is not shutting down, not to worry. We are awaiting the final outcome of Rock Currier’s estate.
But we are fundraising. Mindat is free to everyone, always has been. We are, however, asking people to consider donating even as little as $20.00. It is an amazing resource for experts and new people alike. Worth donating to, don’t you think?

[Jesse Fisher]

For many years Mindat has had a "page sponsorship" deal where for $50 USD a year you will get your name appended to the location page of your choice as a sponsor. It's not particularly expensive, but the last time I looked, there were an awful lot of un-sponsored pages. If anyone wants to support Mindat, perhaps consider this as an option.

[alfredo]

I second Jesse's suggestion to sponsor pages instead of just sending money. And you can sponsor your favorite mineral species pages too, not just locality pages! It's a great way to let other collectors know what your favorite localities and minerals are. I sponsored Boracite (my favorite species). Used to sponsor Danburite, but the Danbury Connecticut club asked me if I would drop it so they could sponsor it (they are after all sitting on the type locality for that mineral), and it is currently sponsored by one of their club members. So it is also a great way to introduce Mindat to clubs - Get a club to sponsor mineral or locality pages that are particularly important to them, and have the club's name as sponsor at the top of the page.

And locality page sponsoring is not limited to just specific mines and quarries. You (or your club) can sponsor your town, a county, state or a whole country! (I sponsored Japan and Bolivia, just because they're my two favorite countries for field collecting.) Grab those pages before someone else does... competition could stimulate the cash flow ;))

And if your favorite vacation spot is not yet on Mindat, let me know and I will add it, just so you can sponsor it! lol I'm sure we can find some sort of mineral to put on the page, even if it's only a chert nodule.

[Montanpark]

Agree with Alfredo and Jesse,
page sponsoring is an effective way to support mindat on a long term basis (my favourite mine "belongs" to me again after having had a break ;-) ). The OP though referred to the quite dire sound of the donation call on the mindat website which indeed suggests that the trouble is serious which may be a bit misleading....