We like getting letters. We like sending letters. And we really like the community here on LetterMo.com

And, we bet that if you found yourself here, you like doing those things, too.

But here’s the thing, maintaining the LetterMo.com website is not without cost. Both in time and actual, fiscal cost.

And so we, the current Admins of LetterMo, are considering what the future of this fine project looks like, and what kind of help we need to get there.

TL;DR: In order to keep the LetterMo.com site alive, we need support in both time and money. If we don’t get the support, LetterMo may continue, but in a different, yet to be determined, format.

(jump to So, How do I Help?)

What we have now

LetterMo.com is a WordPress site on a WPEngine server. It incorporates plug-ins for tracking participants, forums, and allowing friendships to happen within the site. It also has some “members only” areas, and a few “open to the public” pages.

We also currently have two Facebook groups – A Month of Letters – Lettermo Members Chat Group, and A Month of Letters Challenge 2023 where participants can chill with other participants.

A group of volunteers dedicated to updating the site to reflect the new year, moderate the forums, and the FB groups. The leadership team is also developing and will implement a plan to ensure the longevity of LetterMo.

What we’d like to happen

We’d love for the LetterMo.com site to continue on, to be updated for each year, to allow engaging conversations in the forum, and to continue allowing folks to find pen pals via the site. We’d love to have a presence on other platforms as well (such as Facebook), where participants can engage.

This is, of course, the dream, along with introducing improvements to the site, etc. etc.

However, we are at the point where we need to ask for help. In order to keep the lights on here at LetterMo.com, we must rely on the generosity of the community, not only in a financial sense (to pay for web hosting, domain name registration, etc.), but also in time. We need folks who can commit to helping test any updates we make, or even make updates to the page. Who are willing to serve as moderators, or as part of the admin team.

What we need to get there

In order to provide the site as it exists we have identified the following needs:

• Funds to cover the costs of web hosting, security, domain name, etc. for the site
  • OR
• Options for a free or lower cost web hosting solution

• Volunteers to help as moderators
• Volunteers to be on the Admin board
• Volunteers to update and maintain the WordPress page
• Volunteers to moderate the Facebook groups and other social media platforms
• Volunteers to maintain the downloads to reflect each new year

If we don’t meet our goals

If we are unable to get the support we need, it is probable that this site will die a quite death prior to next February.

We are looking at other options to keep the Month of Letters alive, such as participation through established platforms, like Facebook, Discord, or Slack. However this may require participants to download / install / learn an entirely new platform, and is not ideal.

So, how do I help?

• Support the site financially at our GoFundMe campaign. The aim is to raise enough money to keep the site up and running through 2024, which will give us time to come up with a more permanent solution: https://tinyurl.com/LetterMo-2023-GoFundMe 
• Volunteer time to help with the necessary behind-the-scenes functions: https://lettermo.com/volunteer-for-lettermo-admin-team/