By David Snowball

Likewise merci, danke and, more than all, thanks!

On December 17^th, I wrote a note to the 7,000 or so folks on our mailing list. The sad part of the note was reminding folks of the end of our associate’s relationship with Amazon which had so long provided our ability to cover our “hard” bills such as webhosting and email. The glad part was announcing a challenge gift of $2000, offered by three MFO readers who wanted to do the best they could to support us. Their offer was straightforward: we’ll put in a dollar of our own money for every dollar contributed by others, up to a total match of $2000.

That seemed hopeful, as well as very generous. We wrote, hoping that perhaps 20 of you might make $100 contributions, an amount which would trigger your access to MFO Premium (Charles has been streamlining the site and adding features again), allow us to access the full challenge amount and cover more than a third of our Amazon loss.

Ummm … you were magnificent overachievers. Rather than 20 contributions, we received about 200. They ranged from $7.11 to $500, in addition to the original challenge gifts. Tadas Viskanta, master of Abnormal Returns, helped by tweeting out to appeal for his followers to consider chipping in $10 each. Several long-time friends in the industry helped out, as did a huge number of new folks. About 40 people contributed $100 or more and gained MFO Premium (some folks sent letters without sharing email addresses, please write Charles if you’re among them so he can get you set up). Our correspondents ranged from Alaska to Florida (both of which are currently warmer than the Quad Cities).

And not a few tacked on 2.5% to offset PayPal’s cut. Thanks for the extra, it was a very sweet gesture.

It is, by the way, intensely satisfying to have members who feel so strongly about the value this site offers. We’re deeply grateful, both for our own sakes and for the sake of the 24,000 other readers you’ve just helped out.

And so, thanks to …

John R.	John M.
Walter C.	Benjamin P.
David F.	Altaf K.
Richard G.	Jonathan P.
R M.	Brett A., Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Kapil K.	Donald P.
Richard B.	Rick C.
Scott O.	Ian H.
Philip A.	Rand H.
Joe C.	Brian R.
Poody M., we target ‘thought provoking’.	James L.
John M., good fortune to you.	Jeroen B., indeed every bit does help – thank you!
Harlen C.	William S.
Victoria O., with waves and a hope to see you at Morningstar!	Michelle P.
Craig W.	Edward B.
Matthew S.	Elie T.
Stephan S.	Larry C.
Vera & Alfred H.	Thomas A.
Lee S.	Bret S.
Allen H.	Sunil A.
Ben L., we appreciate you, too.	Joel K.
Adam E., you folks are very close to becoming Chip’s first equity fund!	William D.
Dan S. – thank you	James H.
George H.	Jeffrey B., thank you – we’re feeling good.
Bary M.	William N.
Kevin P.	Leah W. – it’s always good to hear from you.
Duc L.	Curtis R.
Nancy J.	Jonathan L., dude – we cover them, and we’re gonna cover more.
Nick & Debbie, as soon as you promise to stop having statewide conflagrations, we’re there!	Kevin S.
Brett B.	Elizabeth S.
William W.	Kirk L.
Steven L.	Paul E.
Jim McM, all 10,000 pennies make a difference.	Eric G., thanks for the extra!
Jack G.	Tom S.
Poetry P.	Ann S.
Nancy P., the extra makes a big difference!	Wilson D.
Jerald R.	Thomas K., we’re so glad you find value with us.
Sigrid M.	William M.
Francis G.	Lloyd T.
Don & Toni.	James P..
Mary C.	Joe B.
Richard & Linda G.	Ryan T.
Neil D.	John D. – the curmudgeonly Ed nods and waves.
Silina T. – we’re always happy to help.	Edward M.
Michael K.	Joan K.
Tim K., thank you – made me think of the $64,000 question!	Hjalmar T., thanks as ever, sir!
RJ D.	Rae S.
JW M.	Lawrence R.
Everett W.	Jimmy V.
Mark D.	Charles L.
Sara M.	Radey J.
Joseph M. from IL, thanks for the support.	Raymond K.
Stuart B.	Joseph A.
Lisa G.	Sunil H.
Robert H.	Roberto P.
Robert D.	Barry P.
Parker B., it’s good to be appreciated.	Gary K.
Jeffrey M.	Van S.
Joseph S.	Paul B.
John G.	Jean S.
Anne G.	Stanley C.
Glenn H.	Vicki D.
Kenneth W.	Paul & Deanna N.
Gary H.	Dolph C.
James O., we try.	Larry H.
Roger B.	William R.
Deborah W.	Patrick F.
Hedda N., a very happy new year, to you, as well, dear ma’am!.	Brad K.
Gerald D.	Susan F.
Michael C.	Kirk T., thanks to you – and everyone else – we surpassed our goal!
Kamaldeep C.	Mark P.
CL K.	Gregory E.
Thomas M.	Kathleen W.
Arthur S.	Ed G., your support helped us reach the goal.
Ruth B.	Eric R.
Paula G.	Richard W.
Paul V.	Jonathan K.
Ryan L.	Fred O., we appreciate it.
Gary B.	Richard F.
Tim K.	Ganesh R., your access has been updated – thank you!
Andre P.	Jonathan F.
Peter & Pamela F.	Bill S.
Mark M.	Louis D.
Robert G.	Dennis B.
Richard K.	Charles P.
Marshall J.	Paul R.
Ronald L.	Ed G.
John K.	Philip S.
Dmitriy K.	Charles R.
James S.	Brian Y.
Mark Z.	John L.
Nicholas B.	Timothy K., Go Vikings!
Christopher R.	John O.
Pat K..	David R.
Gary C., thank you!	Raymond G.
George K.	Don F., we’re glad you enjoy the site.
Michael S.	Robert J.
Mark, we’re happy to keep on keepin’ on.	Mitchell G.
Lanny B., that’s our goal.	Thomas L.
	Stewart F., your donation means a lot.

Please forgive us if we’ve missed your name – I’m sitting amidst a pile of paper, feeling just a little befuddled.

And thanks to our anonymous challenge donors, to Deb W. for helping us think more clearly and to our regular subscribers, Greg and Brian, for their continued support.