The drives are pretty much ongoing- I had in the past set a monthly goal of $100 (but, though not a major time issue, I had to manually every month "reset" the drive), so last month, I decided to set it at $500 and see how that worked. What I have found over time (and this is just an estimate), is that donations probably average about $50-60/month (though, some months the site has received $30 and others $250...it seems to be really variable). I was curious if setting a higher "drive amount" and letting it go on for more than a month would result in higher donations...so far, it has not shown that this is the case.
The bare bones cost for me in maintaining the site is probably roughly about $700 per year. This includes hosting costs, software licensing costs, and additional software or graphic/template payments to coders or others for their services. It obviously does not account for my time in administration of the site or in answering posts.
What I have planned for the future most immediate donations is to try to integrate a better "articles" system where the front/landing page does better of displaying articles of interest (articles being different from individual posts), and to support or modify the recently installed "Resources" section (which was an additional cost of $20 above the recent $140 license extention), to make that feature better. (Though, it is absolutely true that some additions/improvements to the site rely on my "donation" of time above what I do in answering posts...In a perfect world, I would be able to devote more time to the forum). The big expenditure that I would like to consider is moving to a different type of server (which would likely increase the shared hosting costs substantially). If I am able to do that, I can probably implement several changes that would speed the site up and, more importantly, allow me to implement a better Search function (I am by no means an expert in these things....I have learned a lot about the subject of this type of software over the years, but I do rely on input from other folks on the software...if anyone is interested, the vendor of this software is xenforo.com. You can read a lot about the software on their site). But, these other improvements would require investment of money, too (both in cost of the underlying software and in getting expert help in implementing).
I know that I have run this site as a net loss for me for many years. I have toyed with implementing, at times, some paid features, or using a subscription model (for at least some features). To be honest, the direct costs are tiny compared to my time invested in helping members (and, actually, it is probably a fact that I drive down my potential client base by helping people with information that should be free to everyone- a lot of attorneys rely on the fact that people know next to nothing about the law and, in the absence of knowledge would hire them more often. I think this holds true for me and my competitors as far as legal services- my thought is that there are many folks who don't need legal help, they just need to understand the process. That is something they should have access to for free- preferably from the military, but, in the absence of that help from the military, I will provide information needed. Others will benefit from legal help. Either way, both groups of folks should have access to information. I consider it "gravy" or value added that this forum provides a community where people can discuss their issues or just "vent."). It is really that fact that has kept me away from charging people for access to the site...I could probably write a few pages back and forth on the economics of this whole site and the MEB/PEB/IDES system generally. (But, to save my own time, I won't, at least not now).
To give the short answer, this is what I would immediately spend donation on:
1) Site enhancements (layout/design)
2) Improved/upgraded hosting plan
3) As a result of 2), above, improved search functions
I have not foreclosed ever charging for access to parts of the site or implementing advertising. I just have not, so far, felt that the time involved with that is worth it vice the potential limitation of posts (where I really feel conflicted is in providing information based on work I have done as an attorney; I think I should be compensated for that information vice providing access to information that is, or should be, free to everyone...For example, people post all the time about "Commander's letters." I have demurred from ever posting examples, but have posted at length- many times- on what should be contained in a helpful commander's letter. I have considered posting examples, with annotations and suggestions, for a fee...still not sure how I feel about this or what I might do in this regard....or, another example, I have considered offering a consolidated VASRD listing, and then a subscription based annotated- where I give my comments on each code/condition- versions. Finally, I have considered offering a "subscription based" private forum, where only I can see the posts, or members who have posted x number of times can see the posts (but, would be invisible to "guests" or to google).
Bottom line, I may reconsider some of the options and either fees or advertising for the forum or parts of the forum. Not saying that any of this is imminent- I have been thinking about these issues for a few years and may or may not ever change the way I run things.
Comments are welcome.
Thank you for all you do!