Subject: Your coordinator, Jan Labanowski, needs your help...

From: Jan Labanowski <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2002 01:17:53 -0400 (EDT)

Dear CCL Subscribers,

You may be aware that, as with other states, Ohio has been hit with
a budget shortfall.  Given this, I need your support more than ever.
I am asking for your help in maintaining the Computational Chemistry List
(CCL).

When you look at our Supporters Page (http://www.ccl.net/cgi-bin/donors),
you will notice that it has started to shrink (the script does not show
entries that are older than a year).

CCL is essentially a virus and spam-free e-mail discussion service with
an associated web site containing archives, extensive document and software
holding and search capability.  In order to operate, CCL needs hardware,
backups, upgrades, and security, which is a constant struggle with changing
technologies.  I employ students to help me run it, since I would not be
able to do it all by myself.  While they learn a lot of new things, they
also need their wages.

To make it easier for you to support CCL we offer two options:

Option 1:  Services
========
We will provide you with a quotation and invoice -- just like a normal
mail-order purchase (we even can accept credit cards). You would:
   a) buy a set of CDs with CCL archives for $250; or
   b) place your job advertisement on our job site: http://www.ccl.net/jobs
      (you pay $100 when a candidate is found).

Option 2:  Donations
=========
In your jurisdiction, gifts towards CCL may be tax deductible. You will
get a donation letter from the Ohio State University Department of
Development that can be used for tax purposes. We will accept any
donation amount, but donations over $1,000 allow you to sponsor a CCL
Web page of your choice and have your logo displayed there. 

In short, if you want to help, please look at the links from our front page:
  http://www.ccl.net
or don't hesitate to contact me at [email-masked]. I would love {:-)} to talk
with you about helping CCL. Really...

Ask yourself, how much is CCL worth for you?  For example, did you hire
someone thanks to a CCL job ad?  I am getting a lot of praise for this
service, because it is considered as very focused and often more successful
than expensive ads in scientific journals and professional employment services.
TRY IT, it costs NOTHING.  But if you are happy with it, please help support
us.

Or how many times has a question to CCL saved you many hours of digging
through research literature or past experimentations? If you are a graduate
student or a postdoctoral researcher, please tell your boss about CCL and how
important it is to you.  Ask them to help.  They should understand, given the
economic climate these days. If many of you help, even with smaller amounts,
we will be OK here...

CCL is a real cost to Ohio Supercomputer Center.  CCL is facing a certain
reduction in capabilities and possible demise if we do not receive funding
> from outside sources. You might think that you could live without CCL,
but would you really be better off without it?

I have a list of faithful supporters, who always respond to these appeals.
I really hate to rely on the same people and institutions over and over again.
There are about 3000 people using CCL and it must be worth something if you
all use it.  But last time I asked for help a few months month ago, I received
a single check for $20.00 and a few e-mails: "Jan, I am not doing so great
financially lately, but if you really need, I will try to help again...".
I understand that you are all busy... But please help this time...
Do not wait for other guys to help and put it off when you can do it at higher
amount and comfortably... Help me now, with what you can  -- it will be money 
well spent, and you will feel better knowing that we at CCL really appreciate
you and that you are a part of it all.

Jan

Jan K. Labanowski            |    phone: 614-292-9279,  FAX: 614-292-7168
Ohio Supercomputer Center    |    Internet: [email-masked] 
1224 Kinnear Rd,             |    http://www.ccl.net/chemistry.html
Columbus, OH 43212-1163      |    http://www.ccl.net/