Al Gore Wants My Domains ClimateProject.com

[namestrands]

Its a tough call Eva, one part of me thinks give them away, and the other says sell for a fair price and of course the little devil in me say something else.

Its one to sleep on. There is no such thing as a selfless act I guess.

[droplister]

I suppose giving it to them is nice and all, but I probably wouldn't. It's not like they are curing AIDS or feeding the homeless. I would tell them low x,xxx probably.

[Doc Com]

Originally Posted by namestrands

Climateproject(.)com
ClimateProjects(.)com

I would appreciate honest appraisals based on the domain itself and not the potential buyer.

Surprisingly, he is the UK spokesperson or front man on global warming. Ain't that a hoot!

Who would have thought they had value above and beyond until now.

If they are a non-profit organization and are tax exempt similar to tax laws in the states, you may possible donate them for the stated or implied value and use as a tax deduction. I am unfamiliar with UK tax law but it may be worth looking into if you anticipate a needed deduction in your taxes.

Another option is leasing the domains.

Good for you and good luck!

[namestrands]

Originally Posted by droplister

I suppose giving it to them is nice and all, but I probably wouldn't. It's not like they are curing AIDS or feeding the homeless. I would tell them low x,xxx probably.

Not sure about that analogy as I would think Climate Change is a world issue that will affect the generations to come.

[H2FC]

Originally Posted by namestrands

Not sure about that analogy as I would think Climate Change is a world issue that will affect the generations to come.

I agree with you namestrands, this world is too dear and valuable for our children, like that precious little baby you have as your avatar, to risk being destroyed by global warming. Al Gore will go down in history for his fight against global warming IMHO. He deserves a lot of respect for having enough guts to stand up against all the skeptics and naysayers.

[fundraiser]

I teach courses to nonprofit leaders on using the Internet for outreach, advocacy and fundraising. One part of that course concerns obtaining domain names including from the secondary market. I usually ask the audience to tell me how much they spent on the last three promotional mailings they sent to constituents including the cost of printing and mailing the piece. The number quickly gets above $10,000. I then ask why wouldn't they spend that or even more on a domain name that could be used for years to come without printing or mailing expenses and that constituents could use to read about their work, make donations, or interact with staff? Suddenly they get it.

Nonprofit organizations pay for lawyers, accountants, fundraising and management consultants, office rental, electricity, water, printing, newspaper ads, insurance, airline tickets, etc, etc. I have signed multi-million dollar contracts with nonprofit organizations for consulting and there are even nonprofits that spend more than $1 million annually on PPC advertising. They do not receive discounts for most of these expenditures. It is the cost of doing business.

The New York Stock Exchange gave their chairman a pay package of more than $100 million dollars as a nonprofit organization. (ok, that was more of a fun-fact) and there are seven and six figure salaries paid in the nonprofit sector at universities, hospitals, arts organizations and others.

If instead the organization had contacted you about donating money and not a domain, would you have given a sum equal to the value of the domain?

Anyway, if you believe in the work of the organization and choose to donate the domain then fine, that is noble. If not and you choose a fair profit, that is fine too. You could even use some of your profit to donate money to a cause in which you strongly believe.

Good luck with your decision.

[namestrands]

Selling it and donating part of the money, would appear futile if they are to spend that donation on PPC advertising and other expenses instead of acutally giving it to the people who need it.

I do understand that only $0.15c in every dollar we donate gets to its cause.

I have made a decision not to sell; regardless of cost. The decision was based purely on what I perceive to be the right thing to do given the circumstances. However I will ensure that they are no longer parked and for the moment they will redirect to The Climate Project homepage.

I believe that either way it is a case of "damned if you do, damned if you dont"

[namewaiter]

Originally Posted by Mocus

it did crash my browser twice...thought it was just me

yea so why don't you delete the link, so more people like myself don't click to check it out.

and namestrand: i would also say we can't give you an appraisal of just the names because you painted the picture. had you just listed the names with no other explanation i'm sure the values would be much different. i'd be shocked if afternic comes back with a valuation even close to what you're expecting.

[namestrands]

Expecting? dont recall expecting anything.

And yes in hindsight it would of been better to list domains without explanation.

[fundraiser]

Actually, many nonprofits have low administrative costs overall even with paying out much money for some of the expenses I listed. My intent was not to be discouraging about the nonprofit sector but rather to simply explain that these are businesses and as such have business expenses.

Many organizations use a high percentage of funds for programs and services that advance the mission they support. The higher the percent, the better but anything above 80 cents on the dollar spent on the mission is good and there are many charitable nonprofits in that category.

[acronym007]

A good cause? Are you people for real? Al Gore is a millionaire and he's not giving his money away to good causes. Don't push these for free or give them up cheap. It's called free enterprice ladies and gentleman, it's your turn to make some money and it hurts no one. Buy low, sell high, that's what Al Gore does with our stock market, why not you with domains? Cheers,

Acro

[namestrands]

lol. Thanks Acro for such a candid reponse. One thinks one has opened Pandoras box here.

[maroulis]

there's no such thing as non-profit in real terms. Unicef's CEO flies on a private jet - he doesn't fly SouthWest Economy...

time to wake up and realize that... Doing the right thing is willing to sell for a "normal" price... I ditto Acro's comments

[domainah]

i think ask for 2k-3k...thats a good price and a sum they will pay..more than that they might just think its not worth it to them...also consider that they need to justify their expenses, and any official will have a hard time explaining a 10K purchase for a .com when they had the .org..

[Manolete]

Al Gore spends 20K a year in ozone friendly hairsprays and makeup.

I'm sure.

[Doc Com]

Originally Posted by namestrands

I have made a decision not to sell; regardless of cost. The decision was based purely on what I perceive to be the right thing to do given the circumstances. However I will ensure that they are no longer parked and for the moment they will redirect to The Climate Project homepage.

BRAVO!

The price of Sex.com: $12 million dollars
The price of Vodka.com: $3 million dollars
The price of making a "feel good" decision: Priceless!

[BELLC1]

Just my two cents, but ...

Al Gore has lots of names. This isn't something new to him. It doesn't have his name in the domain either so why should it go to him and not others? There are hundreds of names for global warming. Al is but one entity but seems to want to "own" global warming. NFP or not, it is still a business and no one is doing volunteer work on this who isn't already set for life financially.

If you want to redirect your name, there are many ways to do it. Don't feel guilty because you can make money off it. Most everyone else would if they could, too! Your domain is hardly redcross.com or feedthechildren.com

Set your price and stick with it -- that's why you got it in the first place or you wouldn't be here now. If you sell it and feel guilty afterwards, you can always become the philanthropist after the sale, donating the proceeds to NFP operations of your choice, whether it be global warming, starving children, Red Cross, or whatever your conscience tells you to do.

================================================== =======

Who was my favorite character in "It's a Wonderful Life"?
Old Mr. Potter -- He kept the money.

[Doc Com]

Originally Posted by fundraiser

Actually, many nonprofits have low administrative costs overall even with paying out much money for some of the expenses I listed.

Unfortunately, I think it is only the blatantly abusive ones in the news that we hear about.

For us, we go directly to the source in our own community when we make donations in cash or goods. That way we can see our contributions in action and they are very appreciated.

[EJS]

You requested an appraisal based on their value as if there was no "Climate Project." I don't think the names are worth much as generics without inadvertant traffic looking for Al Gore's organization - maybe $25-$50 at most. If you want to be a good person and good citizen, you could "donate" the names to them for a tax voucher since they are worth more to Al Gore than to you.

BTW, there may be legal remifications if you are forwarding traffic to the project's website and then stop because people may get confused. I am not a legal expert but just a thought.

It looks like you are going to do the "right thing" and not the thing that many people might do - trying to profit from an organization that has great goals and values.

[dadster]

Good luck! Hmmmm.....I wonder if he is interested in AlGoreBlog.com????

All the best,

Dadster