Unexpected, but going with it

A key reason for starting the Pets album - which does not in any way negate the heart-warming beauty of our pets - is that I was trying to update the photos for a Facebook fundraiser I created and that process was not very convenient.

Creating the fundraiser itself was pretty easy. My charity was in there and the steps are simple. They have suggested photos, and you can load your own photos, but I could not load photos from my hard drive - only from my Facebook wall or albums. That seemed odd, but okay. I am compiling an album and sorting through photos, and that is all fine.

I was not expecting to do a fundraiser at all. I have seen many birthday fundraisers, and my primary reaction is guilt. It has been a long time since I have had anything to contribute and I don't feel great about that. That doesn't even get into my complicated feelings about staying with Facebook, which is a story for another day.

Then I got the prompt to create a birthday fundraiser of my own, and Facebook automatically donates $2 when you do. Okay. I'll bite, and it will be worth at least $2.

https://www.facebook.com/donate/272665160088708/

Felines First was the obvious choice. We have gotten two cats from them, and I am probably going to start doing some volunteering for them.

That is actually a key part of this whole thing. I don't really have money to give, and I have some limitations on my time too. I certainly have limitations on being able to go places. However, I can do some writing, editing, and uploading of information from home, and it turns out that can be helpful. It was a nice reminder that I do still have something to give.

Then the donations started coming in. I wasn't expecting that. There is some apparent good happening here. Without doing much of anything, it has raised $178.

The other thing Facebook does is encourage you to invite people. That makes sense; it increases the odds of them seeing and contributing. That was not something I could do.

I have gotten better, but I still have a hard time asking for things. It's really hard asking for money. It does not help that the money is not going to me.

I can do better by offering something, though I tend to give things away a lot too.

Anyway, I created an Ask Me Anything event. People can donate and ask me things. By offering something, I can invite people to that:

https://www.facebook.com/events/259868648248539/

I am not done inviting people yet, but I will keep at it.

And I have no idea how it will go. It still feels a little pushy. In addition, it's kind of a weird idea. Yes, I am I good source of information, but the people who know that best also know that they can ask me things for free. Therefore, I do not have the strongest selling points.

However, it's for the cats, and I'm trying something new.