If you guys followed my last blog post, we were approached by some investors to help fund our projects like the Android / iOS mobile app with the condition that we change the Asianfanfics name to something that's not so niched. In the end, we decided to strike out on our own and fundraise the app ourselves. The fundraiser is now open and the fundraising page with further details on how much we've raised so far can be accessed at http://www.asianfanfics.com/shopping/fundraiser. You can also go directly to the purchase page at http://www.asianfanfics.com/shopping/.

Even though it is a fundraiser and I know that many of you would gladly donate for the sake of donating, I still wanted to give something in return. To participate in the fundraiser, you can purchase points for use in your account. I'm also rolling out something new with every purchase: AFF Gold Status. This FAQ entry explains what Gold Status is but it basically allows me to provide people with features I couldn't give to everyone before because either it is too costly or we do not have the server resources. The feature list for Gold status noted in the FAQ will grow over time but there are a ton of features that I'd be able to do now that I wasn't able to do before.

You'll also get limited time only badges for participating in this fundraiser. Namely, these are the Charter Member badge and the App Founder badge. The badges are being designed right now but, rest assured, you'll get them!

One of our members crunched the numbers and provided an estimate in her blog for what a mobile app will cost at http://www.asianfanfics.com/blog/view/813204. We're going to aim for $20,000 to start. I'd personally like to show those investors that our community can be strong without them and with any luck, we'll have a shiny new mobile app by the end of next year.