Back 7 Cups: Part I of Making 7 Cups Sustainable
Weve been talking about different ways we can help make 7 cups sustainable. If you havent yet, please read this thread (please also read this thread if you have questions as they have likely been answered in that thread). The first step we want to take in this process is the Back 7 Cups initiative.
Anyone who wants to support our mission will be able to ‘back 7 cups with a monthly contribution. Well have system messages, a dedicated landing page, and emails that provide people with the opportunity to support 7 cups in this manner. People will still receive perks (see below) for backing 7 Cups, but the emphasis is on backing 7 cups and only secondarily on the perks.
At the same time, well be testing another option that can best be understood as 7 Cups Premium. This option emphasizes the perks primarily and backing 7 cups/supporting our mission as secondary.
We are testing out both options because we are not sure which one will work best. It might be that one option works best in some situations and the other works best in others.
The perks will be spelled out in more detail in the coming days. What follows is a high-level overview. When you back 7 cups, or upgrade to a premium account, youll unlock personalized paths to help you grow stronger, increase confidence, and develop stronger relationships. These paths are comprised of series, or packs, that focus on topics like: relationships, calm and strong, mind over mood, physical health, and life skills. It also unlocks a number of singles or discrete paths that are designed to help you overcome specific issues. Moreover, people that back or upgrade will also access to bi-weekly group conference calls with licensed psychologists on topics like depression, anxiety, mindfulness, stress, and relationships. Additionally, they will receive a monthly email from me and the ability to participate in a conference call with me every month. Ill share what Ive been thinking about in life, Ill discuss ways to overcome challenges, and Ill also provide a sneak peak into future developments here at 7 Cups. Finally, the person will also receive 2 sustainability icons for their profile and the profile of one other person they select. This indicates that it is a shared gift given to ensure that 7 Cups thrives for years and decades to come.
To clarify, listeners would also be very welcome to contribute. If they do not have a member account, then they would just receive the above perks, but they would not unlock the personalize paths. Thanks @RocketsMom for asking.
Our goal is that these options will help get us a clear trajectory of sustainability. If these do not work as well as we hope, then well need to further tweak them and potentially add additional perks or options. Well also soon be rolling out the 7 cups for organizations initiatives shortly as well. We already have a major university on board and we are working with several other non-profits.
Again, please read the other thread if you have questions. If you have questions that have not yet been answered yet, then please ask them here and Ill be happy to provide more details. We are planning on releasing this new update later this early next week. Ill keep you updated!
Thank you!
@GlenM
As a relatively new user of the site, and a person facing hardship, I was glad to find it in spite of the lots of technical glitches that I found when starting. Adding a premium makes me think of what is happening with dating sites: the free version is practically unusable, full of hackers and scammers. Only an elite would have access to the premium, probably those that will end up using this as a social media and not with the objective with which it was created. How about some screening of the users? Or some kind of referral system? We need to keep on thinking of ways to keep this place up and running, addressing the problems of those who need it most...
Hope to hear more details on this as they are available.
@soulsings--they will post the updates on here as well as put a notice up :)
@RocketsMom
@mutter3--Did you accidentally hit submit early?
@RocketsMom no am having hard time posting. Takes about ten tries. I click after your name to post and it just keeps repeating your name. Posted on another spot. Not sure where.♥
@mutter3--I answered the question you posed on that thread. I also answered your question from yesterday (above) just now :)
I know we provide a free and volunteering service as listeners helping people, but a lot of listeners get offered money for their help and the people are often very insistent on giving it. I was wondering if maybe we could direct people like that to donate to 7Cups if they really want to help out.
@SilentSerenityy--I didn't realize listeners were getting offered payment. That's good! It means the member/guest felt heard and was happy with the chat :). I don't think there's anything wrong with that--if a member/guest offers payment, kindly point out the 7 Cups Backing option. @GlenM, thoughts?
@RocketsMom
Yeah, I've had money offered to me. I was kind of stuck and I suggested they contact an admin and maybe donate to the website.
@RocketsMom From my experience on other online communities, it's a bit of a legal minefield. There are laws regarding volunteers receiving payment (I may be wrong, but I think it would bring their status as a 'volunteer' into question) and these laws difer from country to country.
@SpencerT--I wasn't suggesting we get paid. But, listeners used to have the option of allowing for people to tip them so, at some point, it was legal.
This is a great idea, we should make 7 cups more sustainable and user friendly. 
@GlenM Just wanted to praise the general approach: try various ideas, test them in the real world, keep those that work, abandon those that do not. We do not know yet if freemium or crowdsourcing will work or not, but since they works in some other situations, they is certainly worth trying, as long as the soul of 7 Cups remains intact.
@JoyCS--Well said!! Many things are worth trying so long as the core values of 7 Cups are protected and we keep this site going for years and years to come!
Disability support is definitely lacking. I won't be recommending 7Cups until there is a chatroom open and mods who are themselves disabled. These people should be ready to focus the chats to help others feel welcome and supported in their disability. Also when I tag someone as needing EMERGENCY help like RIGHT NOW, nothing happens. So I'm not ready to pay, back or recommend until I see improvements. Again those who are disabled get the short end of the stick. DISAPPOINTED!
@knitter65
I'm sorry you've had such a frustrating experience. We have a limited number of group mods and the mods cannot be everywhere at once. So the rooms that were used the least had to be closed in order to be able to spread our assistance more easily. The chat rooms are for the members and guests. You can always have discussions in them that you start. Moderators are around to assist as needed rather than be in each room 24/7. (Perhaps, one day, if the site continues to grow, that can change. One way it can change is for passionate individuals like yourself to volunteer as listeners and moderators.) Finally, moderators are volunteers and sometimes, even when there is an emergency, there is not a moderator available as we all have personal lives and responsibilities that are outside 7 Cups. I'm sorry this has caused you a problem as we try to cover the hours across the rooms but it is not always possible. Please consider becoming a listener and moderator to help in this process :). Take care!
@RocketsMom I've suggested several times would it be possible for mindfulness, disability and family to split the time for a room? That would solve the problem at least temporarily. All 3 rooms have time of little use and times of more use. Why not share??
@mutter3
That's a good idea! Can you please submit it to the Members' Suggestion Box?
Additional Way of Supporting 7 Cups! (Suggestion)
The business / startup side of me finds this thread to be inspiring and exciting! I like the sustainability aspect of 7 Cups, I believe its mission statement and its impact is well worth funding. It's not perfect for sure, but I'd prefer this over the alternative of not having a free mental health resource :D
Ok so here's my pitch to you @GlenM and the 7 Cups team on an additional method of backing 7 Cups
Goal Setting and Advanced Mental Health Tracking
For members who want to do more to give back but don't have the monetary means to do so.
The concept here is to show 7 Cups as a viable alternative for long-term mental health care. I saw the publication showing 7 Cups being seen as helpful in the short term, so this would be a great next step. By showing that 7 Cups can create a lasting impact in people's lives and their mental health, 7 Cups can better position itself to companies and universities. Having a clear benefit and ROI makes a persuasive argument!
I think setting personal expectations and clear goals can really help shift the way members treat their time on 7 Cups (as members). The goal of therapy is to be well enough to no longer need to come to therapy after all. By having goals and working towards achieving these goals, members are able to track their progress. By sharing this information (anonymized of course) with 7 Cups, they are able to give back in ways that's not only monetary.
There's two reasons I suggest this: one business the other personal.
1) Persuading companies to advertise/suggest 7 Cups to their employees allows many middle-age working individuals to learn more about this site and about mental health. I read on a forum post a while back that middle-aged men are the most likely to take their own lives. That hit me again when I read this article by the Guardian on how socially isolated middle age men are. Having more outreach to this demographic would be great.
Quote: Loneliness in older men is a real issue, and many men in their 30s already sho signs of heading that way. Compared with women, the men who see me for psychotherapy are emotionally isolated. I'm sometimes the only person they've opened up to.- Professor Damien Ridge at the University of Westminster
2) Middle aged working individuals have more income are able to do something like backing 7 Cups monthly. Speaking as a college student, I don't have the means to donate. Most of my money goes towards rent, and what money I have left goes towards paying off student loans. I'd love to help and I put in whatever time I can in being a listener, it's just that financial sponsorships are harder. I feel like there are many in my position who would be more than happy to help (members and listeners alike). We have time and enthusiasm just no money. Don't forget about us!
Please let me know if you have any questions! I'd love to explain more or help however I can :)
@AdVictoriam 7 Cups for organizations is in the works! MIT is our first client. We plan to offer it to companies, universities, health systems and non-profits. We just need the next couple of weeks to get apps straightened out and then also get things straight with back 7 cups. Thank you and glad we are on the same page :). I'll ping you when it is ready so you can give us some feedback.
Couple of points that have come up now this has launched
1) - why does no where on the donation page does it state that the listeners are volunteers and are not paid - i feel the page is deceptive and makes it look like donations are going directly to listeners so that they can offer the support that we do
2) - Can we access 7 cups financial reports any where? Including like many companies the salaries of those at the top and dividends and share holders
3) - What happens if this system makes a profit - where do those funds go?
4) - What happens if someone is gifted more than one leaf? is the 2nd one denied? are they asked to pick someone else?
5) - Is there a way to refuse a gift if we dont wish to be included in this?
6)- Is there a way for people who have donated to share things like guides with those who havent?
7) - the badges showing in chatrooms is already creating a 2 tier system after 20 mins is there an option for the badge not to show? especially in the newer rooms like the welcome room as this may pressure others to donate as soon as they become a listener if they see everyone in there with one
8)- i think calling these donations when this is a for-profit company is highly deceptive and needs to be changed immediately
9)- the fact that many listeners and members still understand this to be a charity or a not for profit company when there is no where (apart from these forum posts) that specifically states that this is a for profit company
10)- are listeners who are professionals in their field going to be added to the paid professionals section?
11) - is there a suggestion of bringing back the donation system for direct to listeners donations?
i think this is a good starter i will get back to you if i have any more questions/opinions lol
@GlenM i did submit all these questions to the video call last night but none of them were answered - if you could get back to me with a reply that would be great - I understand that you are massively busy at the moment but I and a lot of others would really appreciate answers to the above questions
@Kallie112358 cc: @GlenM @Laura @KrinkTheMellowUnicorn
I will try to answer what I know of these and perhaps GlenM can just add-on to my answers as his time is pretty limited right now.
------(1) Prior to getting to this page, a person is on the homepage or other parts of the site that make it clear that listeners are volunteers.
------(2) What you are referring to, I believe, is a release of the tax information for the company. In the US, companies are required to release that information (via the 990 tax form) if they are tax-exempt. 7 Cups does not fall into that category.
------(3) My understanding is that there were investors who helped provide the start-up funds for the company. They did not "donate" per se (though they knew there was a risk of never seeing a return) but they invested. In most companies, profits are divided amongst the investors and/or major shareholders.
------(4) At this time, you can have more than one leaf. I know that I (and several others) plan to submit suggestions for how these can be used to re-gift to others once everything calms down. My guess is that this is one of those types of situations that admin will revise and re-revise until it works best for the community.
------(5) Good question! At this time, I don't believe there is. However, my guess is that if you email support@7cups.com, they can manually remove it for you.
------(6) I'll defer to Glen on this one.
------(7) I believe this will be another one of those situations where admin will revise and re-revise until it works best for the community. In my opinion, we need to be patient and see how things are working in a few weeks. If it's still causing an issue, I'm sure GlenM and Laura will address it.
------(8) I have just taken another look at the two pages. I don't see anywhere that the choice to back 7 Cups or Upgrade is being called a donation. I know that some listeners refer to it as that (and, personally, I think of it as that), but 7 Cups is not responsible for what other people label something.
------(9) None of us can control other people's assumptions. I don't think that Glen suggests anywhere that the site is a charity or not-for-profit. Many mental health private practices are considered for-profit. This is not unusual.
------(10) I'll defer to Glen for the majority of this as I think this is more in the future than now. However, I will add my two cents... As a licensed clinical psychologist, I have thought a lot about how that situation might play out. I know that no one can force me to use my license any way that I do not want to. And, for personal reasons (i.e., I want to be home when I'm home--not bringing work home--and I want to volunteer), I doubt I would be involved in the paid platform of this site when that time comes. We shall see. So, "are" those listeners who are licensed professionals going to be added to that platform? My guess is that the option will be available for those listeners who choose to make that change--just like any other mental health professional.
------(11) I'll defer to Glen on this one but I have not heard of them bringing back the listeners getting paid option.
I hope this helps answer at least a few of your questions, Kallie!
--------------------------------------------
On a side note, I'd like to add one more thing. Coming in as a professional in the mental health world in the US, I feel like there is some confusion about (and too much emphasis on) the not-for-profit vs. for-profit. I don't think, anytime soon, this site will turn a large profit. No one is getting rich and the whole point is to keep it free. Honestly, in the US, not-for-profits can go down the tubes if our economy spirals due to the way tax laws and such are set up. Most private practice mental health clinics in the US are considered "for profit". Many hospitals are now as well. It's a term that's really more related to taxes than anything else. It does not describe the goals, values, etc. of a company.
@RocketsMom thanks for the help :). @Kallie112358, here are resposnes to the other questions not addressed to Rockets. I did attempt to answer these on the call as well, which is why I hadn't responded earlier:
6)- Is there a way for people who have donated to share things like guides with those who havent? - yes see my below post. We want to make this so that you can gift an upgraded account to others. We are thinking through how to do this now.
10)- are listeners who are professionals in their field going to be added to the paid professionals section? - yes, eventually, we'll have licensed mental health professionals on 7 cups. The idea is that eventually we should be able to provide the full spectrum of care. We don't anticipate taking steps in this direction until late January or early February. I'll keep you updated as we get closer.
11) - is there a suggestion of bringing back the donation system for direct to listeners donations? - No, no suggestion on this and the waters here have become much more murkier/dangerous from a legal perspective here as of late, so I actually don't even think it'd be possible to test or implement this even if we wanted to.
How much funding is needed to "sustain" the site? What about money raised past this point? Where does that extra money go? Is sustainable being used in place of profitable? I feel this should really read, "Help make 7 cups more profitable" What am I missing?
Also why are you not naming this "major university"?
@Sunset7
In response to your question about profit, I'd ask you to read my answer to #3 in Kallie's post just above :)
@Sunset7
Oh, just noticed in another post, Glen has named that university. It's MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
I saw this post a couple weeks ago, when I was extremely new to the site and I didn't comment then because I hadn't used anything besides the growth path at that point. I saw a post this morning referencing this post so I briefly read through the first post again - but I have not read additional posts that came after that, so admittedly I am not up-to-date on where this discussion is currently at.
That said, I wanted to give my opinion on subscription-based services and I hope that it hasn't already been covered. I quit my job 4 years ago to go back to school. I have been living on student financial aid and loans for the last 3 of those years, and if all goes well with my grad school application, I will continue to live modestly for the next several years as well, and then for a few years after that while I repay my loans. In fact, in my case, by the time my loans are paid off I will be nearing retirement age given how old I am now.
The first thing I did when I decided to go to university was eliminate all unnecessary expenses. To that end, I cut the cord and cancelled my cable service. I just use an antenna now to bring in HD TV from the local channels, and I stream everything else. I haven't bought new clothes or shoes for myself in a couple years, but I do save my credit card points and purchase gift cards to stores so that I can get "luxury items" like bath and body works lotions and soaps. I also participate in programs like Bing search (for free Xbox gift cards), and Viggle (for free movies and TV series). I cannot afford to take on any additional subscriptions or monthly membership fees.
Right now, I consider 7 cups of tea to be a part of my daily mental health routine. I am very sick if left to my own devices and I rely on free self-help programs like this for socialization, maintaining a positive focus and more recently I've begun to feel a slight sense of belonging to a community, which is something I haven't felt in many years. Sadly, if I had to pay to use this site, or any of its features, I would be forced to leave. I imagine I'm not the only one, as many of your users are teenagers, or college students who don't have a lot of income either.
I apologize if these issues were already addressed by someone else, but I believe fewer people will reach out and get the help that they need if you start charging for certain services. I used to use Blah Therapy and play games on the forums just like I do here. The difference with that site is that there is no listener/member follow-up, and the chatting is completely anonymous. Their listeners also are not trained, nor rated, that's one of the reasons I felt more comfortable as a listener over there. You can, however, pay a fee to consult with a licensed mental health professional. Have you considered that as a money making opportunity? Cyber/Skype based therapy sessions with licensed professionals who agree to volunteer their time so that the site can make money from an extremely small fee that is charged to a consumer that would rather speak with a therapist than a listener?
That way the rest of the site is free to those who need it for the self-help options, and those who want, and can afford, something above and beyond can choose to pay for it at a discounted price. You could also sell branded merchandise... although, I wouldn't buy it because it would be considered a luxury item, a non-necessity. Unless you put a cat on it. In that case, I'd seriously have to contemplate buying it. Anyway, those are my two cents, and then some.
@ALifeLessOrdinary If I understand correctly, 7Cups will still be free, and you'll still be able to do everything you can do now. People who make donations just get some extra options, specialized growth path etcetera, things that aren't even available right now. So people who don't donate won't lose any of the options they have now, people who do donate just get some additional options.
Personally I think it's a wonderful idea. Much better than a site filled with ads and pop ups :)
@Cheeney you described it correctly. Thanks.
@Cheeney
Oh well nevermind then. There's 30 minutes of my life that I can't get back.
@ALifeLessOrdinary If it makes you feel any better, I like your idea of video chatting with a licensed professional for a small fee. Think it would be great for people who can't get professional help where they live or don't feel comfortable enough to see a professional.