SANParks.org Forums

Will do, hugh...

I think I still have your address and contact details from last year.

Will call you.

GlynB

I am a bit late on picking up on this thread...but now I am too darn scared to do anything about it in case I do anything "illegal"
Why is there so much "red tape " involved here.......
What if I was not a member of this forum and wanted to donate to the park.........who would keep track of my donations then ????
Just asking.....

Hi Caracal,

First of all no need to be afraid of doing anything illegal when following the rules given to all in Arid Forum on
31 December 2011.......see here

The red tape is there to protect all parties involved.

When this forum is used to raise funds and to start a project it has to go through the VHR's.

When you join the VHR's its because you have a love for Sanparks and this forum. When Arid Parks became my Portfolio I did my work with pride. You don't take over a project, you are there to lend a helping hand and to ensure that the correct procedures are followed. If any one has questions feel free to pm me or ask here on the forum, I'll gladly answer them.

And you did not answer my question LQ...what happens when folk want to donate and they are not a member of this forum.

Hi Caracal

Please give us a little time to source the correct info for you with regard to that particular question.

Am I missing something here or isn't it very easy to simply donate via Give and Gain? The HR's and VHR's have never been the exclusive "property" of the forum, have they? I simply googled "How do I donate money to the Honorary Rangers of Sanparks" just now and this is the link it took me to:

http://www.givengain.com/cause/2552/

You don't need to be a forumite to donate?

As for items, my family are donating items for Tsammaland which we'll take with us but it's credited under their names. Tell my sister she needs to be a forumite to do that.... Good luck and block your ears....

There are a couple of issues here.

Donations/projects/fund raisers via the forum - ie where the forum is used to advertise projects and ask for donations etc - these have to be done under the umbrella of the VHRs. If people wish to donate to these projects, they do not have to be forum members only. We have many guys (like the 4x4 folk) who work through our region who are not members of this forum. Even some FB guys work though our bank account donating to Anti Poaching. Our region is forum based but not restricted to the forum.

As GP illustrated.

People who are not members of the forum also can donate directly to SANParks via SANParks' givengain. There are projects listed on GivenGain that have been set up via the correct channels within SANParks or the HRs.

If, as Caracal asked, one wants to donate directly to a park, what is the procedure - we are asking for SANParks to reply here on that one. As one can appreciate, SANParks has policies to protect the organisation and the donors. You can read here for an example. So lets wait for the feedback and advice from SANParks.

You are perfectly right GP, the H.R.'s and Virtual region is not exclusive to the forum. Many people who are not members donate to various projects via our region, in for instance Kids in Parks and Anti Poaching. The VHR's is only a legal gateway for people to use (SANParks' rules, not ours).

I think we need to look into the history of why the region was formed and the fact that it was virtually impossible to run any fundraiser on forum before because of the rules. For eg. with the Ratpack fundraiser the mods had to run around to find an H.R. region to run it through.

The Virtual region was started to oil the wheels and make it possible for members of the forum in particular to be able to run their own projects the Albert Bojane project a good example. The VHR's are here to assist and help, that all. We even fund our own banking and Givengain fees so every cent donated goes straight to the project.

The forum used to run fundraisers "before" but within the framework of SANParks' established project portfolio and money was paid directly to SANParks's Givengain. Now members can run any project, the funds go to the H.R. account and is paid out directly to what it was intended for.

Absolutely JenB!

As for items, isn't the solution rather simple? Hand the items over to a Sanparks official, in this case Jannie, and he informs whomever that he received this or that? Again a personal example, I'm donating an old pair of binoculars of mine to Augrabies NP. Point is, Duco is a VHR, I'm not. If he wasn't around I would simply have contacted Augrabies Guru and made arrangements to get it to him. Thereafter it's not my responsibility anymore. Right?

Am very interested to hear the official answer myself....

Thank you DB for that answer!!!..........

GP, even items donated need to go through the region and be documented.

For eg. if you walk into camp XYZ (and please people don't take this up the wrong way, it's just to illustrate a point?) and you hand your binoculars over to a SANParks employee, he might think it's a personal gift and if he vacates his post 6 months down the line, your donation might end up in a cupboard in the city gathering dust. Is that what you intended it for?

By making the donation through the region, we will make sure your binoculars are properly logged as SANParks' property and we'll put you in contact with a responsible person to hand it over to. (It probably would still be Augrabies Guru ) He will feel a lot more easy accepting it because it was documented thereby covering him as well in case something unforeseen happens to it down the line. In his books he will hand it over to a position, not a person so in case the position changes hand somewhere down the line, your binoculars would be available for the next person to use.

Does this make sense?

Understood, thanks everyone. VHR's and HR's thanks for all your hard work.
JenB are we still on for a potjie? Sorry for asking here, thought I might caught your attention.
Who else?

Let's use my situation, a real one. Might be a good overall example and I find out how it's supposed to be done so it's legal.

I have a pair of binoculars and a bird book which I want to go to Augrabies NP, nowhere else.
I will not have time to hand these items to an HR. Which is in fact the truth. Our trip is so full we hope we can keep track of it ourselves.

What do I do? Seems easier and less trouble to simply donate the binoculars to somebody in Holland or simply let them lie in a cupboard and give the book to a family member in South Africa.

Remember, I'm talking about myself and my sister who has items for Tsammaland but is in no way interested or involved with the forums.

Guinea Pig, why are your sister forum shy?

She has no interest in the internet at all, Picnic. Not the forum's fault. One of those rare people who just don't see the use of it. I don't get it, but so be it.