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swell people have supported us so far this month

We are one of the few surviving specimens of an endangered species: publications which research and write original material. Please help prevent our extinction. In our 17+ years we’ve published 773,632 words, released 318 podcast episodes, curated 32,243 links, and displayed zero ads.1 Advertising is gross. Instead we at Damn Interesting ask our readers and listeners for direct support.

If you’re on this page, and you’ve read this far, it’s likely you value our work. If you’re willing to part with money for a sandwich, or a movie ticket, or a Netflix subscription, would you consider doing the same for us?

Even a few bucks a year goes a long way if enough people chip in. Canceling is super easy.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

  • One-Time
  • Monthly
  • Annual
  • More Options

Note: If you make a donation through one of these alternate channels, and you want to receive the same reward you would through our normal donation system, please send an email to webmaster@damninteresting.com to arrange fulfillment.

Donate via Venmo

/u/DamnInteresting

Donate via Paypal

Support us via Patreon

You can set up a monthly contribution via our Patreon Page.

Paper check

If you prefer to send a paper check, please make it payable to Alan Bellows and mail it to:

PO Box 16551
Salt Lake City, UT 84116

Buy a Print

We get a few sweaty nickels whenever someone buys a print from our collection.

Calculating...

Recent History

  • May 2023: 174 donors, $179 short. 😲
  • April 2023: 177 donors, stretch goal met! 😁
  • March 2023: 172 donors, stretch goal met! 😁
  • February 2023: 152 donors, $258 short. 😕
  • January 2023: 158 donors, monthly goal met. 😀

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change/cancel a recurring donation?

The most direct way is to visit the Stripe Customer Portal, which will verify your identity by emailing you an access code. There, you can update your billing info or cancel your recurring donation. Or, if you prefer, you can cancel by visiting this page. If all else fails, you can email alan@damninteresting.com. Don’t worry, we won’t resent you for canceling⁠—far from it! We know that life gets in the way, and priorities shift. We sincerely appreciate that you supported us while you were able.

Where does the money go?

Every month we pay our operating costs, which include web hosting (Dreamhost), podcast hosting (SoundCloud), content delivery network, Slack, audio library subscriptions, music licenses, newspaper archive subscriptions, and other stars in our constellation of expenses. Anything above that pays for things like author payments, research materials, equipment, software, research-related travel, etc. Whatever remains is paid to authors/editors as residuals.

What happens if you miss your goal?

If we fall short one month, we survive. If it happens two or three months in a row, our ability to afford to stay online will be in peril. However we will never resort to advertising, so if our readers/listeners decide we are not worth supporting directly, we will shut down non-essential systems, pay the bills until we cannot, and then we will move on to something else.

Is there another way to donate?

Have a look under the “More Options” tab above to see options for Paypal, Patreon, etc.

What is the “stretch” goal?

We have two donation goals each month: the “survival” goal that pays the bills and keeps us running, and the aspirational “stretch” goal that kicks in once the survival goal is met. It’s an effort to inch our monthly contributions up to a higher level, one that might give us the opportunity to grow and increase our output eventually. It also serves to smooth out the bumps on months when we don’t meet the survival goal. We consider it a successful month if we meet the survival goal, and anything beyond that is appreciated, but not strictly required.

How can I stop the site from occasionally asking for donations?

If you have already donated, you can silence all donation-related messages on the site by going to the search box and entering !donor (that’s an exclamation point, then the word ‘donor’ with no space). When you hit Enter, this special code will suppress all donation-related messages in that browser for a long period of time. Similarly, you can enter !hush if you have resolved to never donate no matter how much of our bandwidth and brain-fruit you consume.

Why would you share your secret ‘hush’ code with everybody?

We require donations in order to survive, but we gain nothing from pestering people who can not or will not donate. Life is short and we are realists.

How can I help if I’m broke?

We appreciate the thought! If you are listener of our podcast, one of the nicest things you can do for us is to rate and review our podcast on your service of choice (Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, etc). That makes it more likely for new listeners to discover us. Also, since we aren’t fans of advertising, the best way for other potential donors to find us is for you to tell your friends, share links to our content, etc.

If you wish to lend us psychological support, simply drop us a line.

Miscellany

If you have any questions and/or suggestions, send some electrons to alan@damninteresting.com.

Damn Interesting is not a 501(c)(3) charity and donations are not tax-deductible.

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1 Unless you consider Amazon Affiliate links to be ads. When we use a book, film, or other purchasable media as a source, we often link to the item on Amazon in such a way that we get a few cents if the clicker makes a purchase. We don’t consider these ads, because they are passive and harmless, but some people might disagree, so we wish to be transparent. As of 2015 these earn us between $100 and $200 per year on average.