PSA: DU's Summer Fund Drive is around the corner -- here's some info that may be of use

[EarlG]

A number of people have asked recently about buying Star Memberships for others, and a number of people have also mentioned that their gift memberships are about to expire, so I thought it would be a good idea to provide some information to clear things up.

DU's Summer Fund Drive is currently scheduled to begin on the evening of Sunday, August 18 -- that's next Sunday -- and will run for one week, ending on the evening of Sunday, August 25.

The Summer Fund Drive is the ONLY time during the year that it is possible to gift a Star Membership to another member. During the Summer Fund Drive, anyone who makes a purchase of $35 or more is given the option to gift a Star Membership to another member of their choosing* and also the option to receive a DU bumper sticker.

If you already have a monthly or yearly subscription to DU via an automatic PayPal payment, you can still make an additional one-time contribution during the Fund Drive -- here's how:

1) Visit this page: https://www.democraticunderground.com/star
2) Click the "Get a Star Membership!" button
3) On the following page, select the "One-time online payment" option

Doing this will NOT affect your current automatic payment or your ongoing subscription in any way.

Just remember that if you want to gift a Star Membership to someone else, you can only do it WHILE THE FUND DRIVE IS RUNNING -- not before or after.

I hope this information helps! Please feel free to pass it on to anyone who you think might find it useful.



* provided the recipient has more than 100 posts, or there are extenuating circumstances if they have fewer than 100.

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Kick n/t

[Think. Again.]

2. Quick question...

I have had some difficulty getting the 'paypal, pay as a guest' portal to actually get the payment through. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, when I have tried to make additional donations, but I do not want a paypal account.

Is there any other online portal to renew my star membership?

[EarlG]

3. PayPal is the only service we use to process card payments

The one-time payment option allows you to make a payment without needing a PayPal account, although if it's not working properly that's obviously a problem. Unfortunately we can't fix problems at PayPal's end, so if the payment won't go through, you'd have to contact them.

Otherwise, the only alternative is to make a check/money order payment via snail mail. If you want to purchase a Star Membership for someone during the fund drive via snail mail, just let me know that a check is on the way and I'll make sure the person gets their gift.

[Think. Again.]

4. Thanks, I'll keep trying and if worse comes to worst, will send a check.

[Niagara]

5. I've been jonesing for this news for awhile now!!!!!