International Spaceflight Museum

A week after the ISM Board of Directors’ decision to sell Spaceport Bravo, leaving the region behind when the SciLands moved, a generous donor committed to paying the entire monthly tier/rent cost of our second island/region for the indefinite future.  Spaceport Bravo joined the rest of the SciLands four days after their move

To this person, who wishes to remain anonymous for now, we offer the heartfelt thanks of the Board, all the volunteer staffers, and the 3000-4000 monthly visitors to the International Spaceflight Museum!  A rescuer of ISM, encouraging likewise efforts by others someday, and giving hope.

-Paradox Olbers,

ISM President & head of operations

I reported at the weekly Wednesday 4 pm PDT/SLT meeting that we had a matching donor for the next month – if a person makes a donation, he’ll match it.  But I wasn’t telling the truth; the donor is me, and the staff can’t keep supporting Bravo by ourselves. 

Here’s our true situation:  Most of our donations come from the volunteer staff, a few large contributions (U$10 to U$50) each month and we can’t keep it up since we have to cover at least half of Spaceport Alpha’s rent/tier too.  So I’ll match all public [not staff] contributions up to one month’s rent for Bravo – U$195 – made before Sept 20th.  I apologize for trying to drum up contributions by using this tactic and then redefining the offer.

I’ve changed my original offer that didn’t put a cap on the matching because we’ve just got some outstanding publicity in RL  and possibly a big staffer donation too, which could lead to public contributions that would exceed my ability to match.  The new publicity that gave me renewed hope for a large increase?

*On Thursday, Hamlet Au’s New World Notes, one of the largest five sources of SL news, gave us a great post asking people to help.  [Clarification - my original offer was to cover this month's rent/tier, NOT indefinitely until the 501c3 came through.]  http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2009/08/save-spaceport-bravo.html 

*Earlier today (Friday), Rik Riel also gave us a supportive post as well at Betterverse.org.  http://www.betterverse.org/2009/08/the-second-life-spaceflight-museum-needs-help.html

Thanks to you both for getting our situation out to many avatars who have never heard of the International Spaceflight Museum before!

-Paradox Olbers, President of ISM and head of operations

Of course, but in particular the US Internal Revenue Service have sent us a letter asking for more information regarding our application for tax-exempt status. This is excellent news, since it means we are getting close to approval of that long-awaited state. While the ISM Corporation has been a non-profit corporation in the eyes of the State of Kansas, where we are incorporated, since 2006, that is not the same as having recognition from the IRS.

So, please help us keep the doors open as we clear this final hurdle! The bills are due again next week, and we are far from being able to pay our monthly debt to Linden Lab. You can follow our progress in that effort on our online balance sheet here, and you can help by visiting our Donation page here.

We’re almost there!

The ISM Balance Sheet has been replaced by a new Google spreadsheet because of a technical glitch with Google Docs. There is a shortened URL available, xrl.us/ismmoney1.

If you look at the bottom of the new spreadsheet, you’ll see we received a huge donation (L$30,000) from an avatar in the past day, which effectively saves Spaceport Alpha for this month! Many thanks!! (I am not revealing the avatar’s name at this time, since we don’t have permission to do so. If consent to let us acknowledge this generousity is given, we will publish it here.)

Now we just have to raise at least US$152 by the end of next week, and Spaceport Bravo will also be with us for at least one more month.

Thanks again for all your support since we started this museum, in 2005!

Do you Twitter? Even if you don’t, you can see what people are “tweeting” about the ISM by going to http://hashtags.org/tag/sl-ism. If you do have a Twitter account and want to discuss the musuem there, please use “#SL-ISM” somewhere in your message so it will get indexed.

Some examples of tweets using this tag:

This image is from a Twitter client called iTweet.

To find out more about hashtags, see the Twitter Fan Wiki entry. For more ideas on using Twitter and other online social network tools for nonprofits and education, visit Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog.

[Update, March - all five items drew sponsorship/gift bids, raising a total of U$78 for ISM. Thanks to all the bidders!]====================================
International Spaceflight Museum
Exhibit Sponsorship Program auctions
February, 2008
====================================

Five exhibits are up for auction this month.

To submit a bid on eBay:
1. Go to http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZism_exhibits
   OR
   a. Go to www.eBay.com .
   b. Click on “Advanced Search” near the top.
   c. In the Search panel on the left, choose “Items by Seller”.
   d. In the “Enter seller’s User ID” field, type “ism_exhibits” and click Search.
2. Go to the exhibit you’d like to sponsor, enter a maximum bid amount and click Place Bid.

Auctions will end on February 27, 2008 around 8pm SLT.

Sponsorships will begin on March 1, 2009 and end on August 31, 2009.

Lunar Roving Vehicle (Item # 120381271015)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Bravo/39/96/23/
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-LunarRovingVehicle

Mars Pathfinder (Sagan Memorial Station) (Item # 120381271268)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/223/236/634/
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-MarsPathfinder

Pluto New Horizons (Item # 120381271488)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/184/216/751/
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-PlutoNewHorizons

Mercury 4 (Item # 120381271718)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/124/97/34/
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-Mercury4

Minuteman II (Item # 120381271862)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/153/101/34/
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-MinutemanII

The application for federal tax-exempt status — non-profit, or 501(c)(3) — has been filed with the US Internal Revenue Service on behalf of the ISM Corporation. This corporation is the Real Life organization that manages the financial affairs of the International Spaceflight Museum. Now we wait to hear from them.

Assuming the application is approved, we can then petition Linden Lab to lower our “land use fees” (server costs) to the level charged other non-profit organizations, which would cut our costs drastically. Since buying our first island we have paid full retail for our space-space, with current costs running nearly US$400 per month. But in the meanwhile, again assuming the application is approved, anyone who has made a financial donation to the museum and who pays US income taxes can include those donations in their itemized charitable deductions back to the corporation’s founding in October 2006. This is possible because we submitted the application (just barely) within twenty-seven months of incorporating.

In the meantime, thank you for your past support, and please don’t stop! We need your contributions to keep the museum running, so visit our donation page, or just click this button to send a gift to the ISM now.

====================================
International Spaceflight Museum
Exhibit Sponsorship Program auctions
December, 2008
====================================

[Opal Lei reports the latest auction series]  Six exhibits’ six-month sponsorship rights are up for auction this month.  There will be no auctions in January.  Minimum bids are U$5 (approx 3.58 Euros) to U$20 (approx 14.32 Euros)

Auctions will end on Saturday December 27, 2008 around 7pm SLT/PST.

Sponsorships will begin on January 1, 2009 and end on June 30, 2009.  Your personal or company name (up to 29 characters) will be put on the ISM exhibit plaque, and the ISM wiki entry for the rocket will include your SL slurl or internet url, if you choose (some winning bidders choose to remain “Anonymous”).  Show your potential clientele that your company has “the right stuff!”

N-1 (Item # 120351885237)  -  One of the ISM’s biggest rockets on exhibit, this was the Russians’ booster for their cancelled manned lunar flight program.  Minimum bid is U$20 (approx 14.32 Euros).
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/43/171/24/
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-N1                                                     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N1_(rocket)

Gemini V Titan II (Item # 120351886208)  -  Yes, this is the one you ride to get to the Low Earth Orbit platform.  One of our most popular exhibits, located near Spaceport Alpha’s entry plaza. Minimum bid is U$20 (approx 14.32 Euros).
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/30/114/22/
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-GeminiVTitanII

Magellan (Item # 120351886659) – orbited Venus for four years.  Minimum bid is U$10 (approx 7.16 Euros). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellan_probe
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/166/44/591/
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-Magellan

Jupiter-C / Juno I (Item # 120351887168)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/130/96/34/ 
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-JupiterC-JunoI

Jupiter / Juno II (Item # 120351887404)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/137/97/34/
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-Jupiter-JunoII

Jupiter AM-18 (Item # 120351887700)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/160/108/34/
http://ism-exhibits.wikidot.com/ism-JupiterAM18

To submit a bid on eBay:
1. Go to http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZism_exhibits
   OR
   a. Go to www.eBay.com .
   b. Click on “Advanced Search” near the top.
   c. In the Search panel on the left, choose “Items by Seller”.
   d. In the “Enter seller’s User ID” field, type “ism_exhibits” and click Search.
2. Go to the exhibit you’d like to sponsor, enter a maximum bid amount and click Place Bid.

How else could Santa deliver gifts so fast?  ;D

Start the new year by sponsoring one of Santa’s “reindeer” this holiday season.  We have six up on auction until Dec 27, including the N-1 rocket, the Magellan, AND…

… the Gemini V Titan II which is the ONLY rideable rocket at the ISM!  Yup, that’s the rocket that transports people to the Low Earth Orbit platform!  How cool is that!

To submit a bid on eBay:
1. Go to http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZism_exhibits
OR
a. Go to www.eBay.com .
b. Click on “Advanced Search” near the top.
c. In the Search panel on the left, choose “Items by Seller”.
d. In the “Enter seller’s User ID” field, type “ism_exhibits” and click Search.
2. Go to the exhibit you’d like to sponsor, enter a maximum bid amount and click Place Bid.

Auctions will end on December 27, 2008 around 7pm.

Sponsorships will begin on January 1, 2009 and end on June 30, 2009.

N-1 (Item # 120351885237) – One of the ISM’s biggest rockets on exhibit.
SLURL wiki

Gemini V Titan II (Item # 120351886208) – Yes, this is the one you ride to get to the Low Earth Orbit platform.
SLURL wiki

Magellan (Item # 120351886659)
SLURL wiki

Jupiter-C / Juno I (Item # 120351887168)
SLURL wiki

Jupiter / Juno II (Item # 120351887404)
SLURL wiki

Jupiter AM-18 (Item # 120351887700)
SLURL wiki

*Wed 7pm SLT Nov 12th -“Bravo for BravoPort!” fundraising auction at the b! Donor Park on ISM’s 2nd island, Spaceport Bravo.  The campaign to save the Museum’s BravoPort island.  Get the latest news here at the ISM blog page “Auction Items!” 
http://slispaceflightmuseum.org/blog/?page_id=172

Performance by Kala Pixie at 6pm SLT [one auction item is a gift certificate for one free Kala Pixie performance for yourself and friends].

Fourteen avatars have donated one or more hours of their time giving personal tours of their SciLands science-themed islands and builds, or letting you pick their brains in their specialties of scripting, building, shopping, giving concerts, or show production.

Nov 11th – Latest auction item!  Earth Primbee – how to make machinama, filming and production.

Nov 10th - Hours donated by Prospero Frobozz – an astronomy talk, Pooky Amsterdam -shopping expertise or how to produce a show, Kat Lemieux – tour of International Spaceflight Museum, and Roger Amdahl – an hour on how to design science exhibits & a tour of his.
Nov 3rd – Curious George, Director of MICA [Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics] offers an hour’s social on astronomy to you and your group, since MICA’s island is still in procurement and not yet tourable.  And ISM members builder Opal Lei and Becka Finesmith offer two one-hour dance sessions each as your partner – at times mutually convenient!
Nov 1st – Patio Plasma of Exploratorium & ‘Splo SciLands islands offers a tour, and Georgianna Blackburn offers a Sigma Aldrich tour.
Oct 31st – zazen Manbe of SciLands’ Science School offers a SciLands tour, Felixx Shepherd of Garden of DaVinci, Kalepa offers a tour and also a carbonite slab with a person embedded in it, an L$390 value, Hackshaven Harford offers a tour of NOAA’s SciLands meteorology islands, and Jimbo Perhaps offers a tour of his rocket builds.
Oct 21st – From Particulator Articulator Kala Pixie: “a certificate for one free show, with however many people they want to bring.”
Oct 20th – Hackshaven Harford of Maya Realities offers a *six month* subscription to their premium sim/island metrics services in SL, a U$300 value!
Oct 19th-SciLander Max Chatnoir of Genome offers a tour of her isle & visit to Gregor Mandel’s Abbey, where he puzzled out laws of inheritance in his plants. And yes, there is a Gene Pool on Genome as well. Max is Mary Ann Clark, Professor of Biology at Texas Wesleyan University.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Bravo/167/193/89