Last week we announced the 2011 Corner Fund Raiser with a goal to raise $3,500 towards a new server for the site, as well as for the development of a mobile app (iPhone & Android) for the Corner forums. So far we’ve had 18 people step up and raise $600 (a little over 17% of the way there). Check out the list of people that have donated so far here. That’s a great start, but we still have quite a ways to go ($2,900). Have you donated yet? What’s holding you back?

As an added incentive, we’ve added some new prizes to the mix from some of our generous sponsors. What? Prizes you say? Check out the details:

• If you donate $25, you get yourself a Contributer Award and 1 entry into the draw for the prizes listed below
• If you donate $50, you get yourself a Contributer Award and 3 entries into the draw for the prizes listed below
• If you donate $100, you get yourself a PhotographyCorner Pen, a Contributer Award and 8 entries into the draw for the prizes listed below
• If you donate $250, you get yourself 5 PhotographyCorner Pens, a Lifetime, Level I Premiere Membership, a Contributer Award and 25 entries into the draw for the prizes listed below
• If you donate $500, you get yourself 10 PhotographyCorner Pens, a Lifetime, Level II Premiere Membership, a Contributer Award and 100 entries into the draw for the prizes listed below

The Prizes
Once the goal of $3,500 (well, $3,603, but I’ve got us started with the first $103) has been reached, we’ll put all the entries into a randomizer and draw for the prizes:

• An Acme Made note book case courtesy of Acme Made
• 2 Acme Made Hardback Folio for Kindle 2 courtesy of Acme Made
• 2 Acme Made Hardback for Kindle DX courtesy of Acme Made
• 5 small camera bags courtesy of Acme Made
• 2 Lowepro Terraclime 100 camera bags courtesy of Lowepro
• 5 Tamron Lens wraps courtesy of Tamron
• A Tamron Domke bag courtesy of Tamron
• An Urban Disguise 50 shoulder bag (a $179 value!) courtesy of Think Tank Photo
• 5 concrete5 CMS hosted websites for 2 years courtesy of ISU

That’s over $1,000 in prizes up for grabs!!! If you’re an active member of the site, we’d really appreciate it if you donated a little bit towards this fund raiser. There are over 25 prizes up for grabs… so it’s not only a fund raiser, it’s a raffle! Get your donation in and let’s get a new server, a mobile app, and give away some prizes!!

CLICK HERE to make a donation TODAY!!!

We’ve talked about it in the forums already, and now it’s time to take some action. Our server is getting old (over 65 in computer years!) and we need a new one - badly. In addition, as mobile computing because more and more popular, we’d like to be able to create an iPhone/Android app that you can download (for free) to browse the Corner a little easier. Unfortunutely, the cost of both upgrading the server and producing and releasing an app is fairly expensive. Advertising does cover most of the day-to-day operating costs of the Corner, but these upgrades/addtions are going to cost above and beyond what the Corner makes in standard advertising. Luckily, as an active member of the Corner, you can help.

We have a goal to raise $3,500 (US dollars), which will pay for all the server upgrades, as well as the increased monthly costs of the new server for the next year+. In addition, your donations will allow for the production and release of a PhotographyCorner iPhone/Android app (which will be available for FREE).

You can read through all the details of the fund raiser here on the 2011 Corner Fund Raiser page: where the money will be spent, who’s donated so far, and what you can win if you donate. Wait, what? There are prizes, too? Of course!

Thanks to some of our favorite sponsors (Tamron, Lowepro and Acme Made so far…), we have some prizes to give away to those that donate to the cause! If you donate $25, you get 1 entry, $50 gets you 3 entries, $100 gets you 8 entries, $250 gets you 25 entries, and $500 gets you 100 entries! Once we’ve raised the $3,500, I’ll throw all the entries into an randomizer, and send out some prizes (we’ve got over a dozen prizes so far - check out the fund raising page for details!). In addition, everyone that donates something gets their name listed down at the bottom of the fund raising page, and the eternal thanks and gratitude from the rest of the community.

You can make donations via PayPal by credit card, PayPal and even check. Decide how much you can help out, and click the “Pay Now” button at the bottom of the fund raising page.

Can we hit our goal of $3,500 by the end of May? Make your donation today!

As most of you know, over the past 3 weeks, in conjunction with Contest Corner Challenge #60: That Bites, we partnered with the Canadian Red Cross in a fund raiser called ‘Malaria Bites.’ The purpose of the fund raiser was to purchase specially-treated mosquito nets for children in Liberia. These mosquito nets help to keep children safe from malaria-carrying mosquitoes while sleeping, when mosquitoes are most likely to bite and spread malaria. For $7 CDN (about $5.50 US), we could purchase a net through the Canadian Red Cross. Every $7 we donated could save a life. Instead of buying little trinkets and stuff this holiday season, as a community, we decided to save lives instead.

A couple of weeks ago, along with the announcement of Contest Corner Challenge #60: That Bites, we started a site-wide fund raiser called “Malaria Bites.” Our goal? To raise money to purchase mosquito nets for children in Liberia to help prevent the spread of malaria by partnering with the Canadian Red Cross. You can read all about the Malaria Bites campaign here in our initial blog post.

Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease that attacks a person’s blood supply. It is transmitted by mosquitoes at night, striking silently while people are asleep. The more times a person is bitten by infected mosquitoes, the greater their risk. Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of malaria and can die as quickly as 24 hours after first experiencing symptoms. Symptoms include recurring chills, fever, and sometimes jaundice and anaemia. Although malaria is not always fatal to adults, the debilitating symptoms often prevent those stricken with it from working or taking care of family members–causing a serious economic burden to people already vulnerable to the effects of poverty.

So what does Malaria have to do with photography? Not much really. I've been trying to come up with a good way to tie this into the Corner (and there is a tie in, but you'll have to wait until Contest Corner Challenge #60 is announced), but what it honestly comes down to is that if you're into photography, that means you have some disposable income (let's face it, photography isn't a cheap hobby), and the most proven and cost-effective way to prevent malaria is by sleeping under a long-lasting insecticide-treated net (which we can purchase for only $7 each). I'll get to more on that below.