Newsletter

Dear %anonymous%,

Welcome to the second BeWelcome Newsletter of 2015. The Board of Directors, various teams and volunteers have been quite busy and so this is a good time to update you about what's been happening over the past few months.

BeActive

Did you know we have a budget for organising events in your local community to help spread the ideas of hospitality exchange and BeWelcome in particular? If you ever wanted to organise a special event on BeWelcome, but were held back because of some costs, this is your chance to get active! We'll pay for the t-shirts, stickers, banners, flyers, rent of a (small) venue (incl. utilities costs), other materials and even part of the food and drinks of the participants! Basically for everything you need to organise a magnificent event!

More info | Contact: amnesiac84

Design changes

Our development team has improved the BeWelcome look by redesigning the header and footer of the website, as well as site navigation. These changes have laid the foundation for future design updates.

OctoberTales has started forming a group to redesign the website. The group will discuss, code and test a design proposal already discussed on the forums so as to upgrade BeWelcome to current internet standards. If you're into coding, designing, restyling or merely interested in user interfaces and want to help, contact OctoberTales

Ombudsman

BeWelcome has installed an Ombudsman. Daydreamer1969 agreed to take on this task. He has been a member of BeWelcome and BeVolunteer from the very beginning. For years he has been an active volunteer, first doing translations, and more recently; a member of the SafetyTeam. To take on this task, he stopped all other volunteering tasks, so as to be neutral in mediation services. As he works as a mediator in his professional life, he is very well suited for the important task of mediating in disputes in order to resolve them through intervention arbitration.

Login reminder

Just like last year, a login reminder will be sent to all members who have not logged in for more than a year. Those who do not log in will not be shown in the regular member search. This is to prevent a lot of inactive members showing up who might not be interested in hosting.

You can still choose to show inactive members in the search using the advanced search options. All members with an inactive status become active immediately after logging in again.

Donation Campaign 2015

We've made it! Since the start of the donation campaign in January, to its end in June, we've received 1620 euros in donations. We reached the target to pay our servers, bank charges, insurances, etc. Big Thanks to all those who donated.

After several months of discussions with PayPal, BeWelcome was finally accepted into their program for non-profit organizations. This means that PayPal reduces their charges per transaction by 50%, which means that more of your donation money reaches us. A big 'thank you' to sitarane for having done the initial research.

BW & DIY

BeWelcome is a platform run by volunteers who provide you with the tools for hospitality exchange. As a non-profit, we don't offer incentives, monetize, or exploit you or your hospitality. However the rest is down to you, whether alone or part of a team. From Helping BeWelcome through volunteering, to accepting an accommodation request, the community thrives on your active participation. By volunteering one hour a year to one hour a day, every effort helps the community strengthen and grow. For example, whilst a volunteer might design a new BeWelcome poster or sticker, we leave it to you to download, print and use it.

Get active and update your profile

• Complete and update your profile: Would you like to meet other BeWelcome members? If so, you should provide them with a first impression by adding a profile picture and fleshing out your profile.
• Invite friends to BeWelcome. Write a comment for them, so that they can be trusted by other members of the community.
• Social Media: you can like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
• Chatroom: we also have an IRC chatroom where you can talk to volunteers and other members. Please use your BeWelcome anonymous as nickname.
• Join or start a BeWelcome group: If no group for your region or interests currently exist on BeWelcome, you can create one.

Wishing you happy travels and enriching encounters,
The BeWelcome Volunteers

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