Appeal 2004

2004 Appeal

Nearly 3 years ago the Rune School website was launched, primarily as a resource for new members of the runes- divination@yahoogroups.com mailing list. However such was the level of interest in the site we soon found ourselves growing beyond our original intentions and hence the School was converted into a not-for- profit organisation to better ensure its long term future.

During a transitional period the founders continued to meet the School's expenses, including domain registration fees and server costs, while the School's Board of Governors investigated ways to make the site self-supporting. It is planned to launch a range of commercial courses and services to supplement the free ones already offered. However the School now faces a crisis and we are appealing to the wider runic and pagan communities for assistance, including those who actually use our site.

Due to a confusion over credit card numbers the costs of our dedicated server went unpaid for much of last year though both we and our ISP believed they had been paid. We are now faced with a bill for $995 which we could not have anticipated and which has the potential to do serious damage to the School. Over the last three years many people have been helped by the School, through courses, by using our website for reference or by contacting us directly with questions. We are a unique institution and we believe we fill a significant gap in runic educational provision. Our courses are grounded in an understanding of, and respect for, the runes' archaeological, literary and mythological heritage. However we do not promote one author or approach, instead teaching the critical skills that enable students to evaluate these for themselves. We develop our own range of programs to assist the study of the runes, such as our Virtual Campus (http://www.runeschool.org/news/rs_virtcampus.htm ). Please, do not let this good work be ended.

Any money that you can spare will be gratefully received by the School. Our preferred method of payment is via Paypal and you can do this at http://www.runeschool.org/information/rs_donate.htm. We may also be able to accept US money orders and please contact the director (director@runeschool.org) if you would like to use this method.

Meanwhile business at the School continues as normal and hence, as always, we are also seeking people with energy and time to participate in the School at a variety of levels. This includes as Governors, Committee members, academic staff and webmasters/coders. Academic staff receive a small level of remuneration for tasks such as setting assignments and marking work however all other staff are currently unpaid though we are happy to offer rewards in other ways, such as free webspace on our server. Should you wish to join the School please contact the Director.

We thank you for your support.

Governors, Staff and Students of the Rune School

Please report all problems with the website to webmaster@runeschool.org