Our Beloved SMDHON Community,
After a great deal of discussion, we have decided to bring our current situation to you, the players and fans. We are at a crossroads, a decision must be made, and we felt it best to include you in that decision.
Last year was hard, for SMDHON as an organization. We didn't have a lot of events, and the ones we could have were limited due to COVID. This has led to a lull in recruitment of new members, and critically, a lack of income. Running nerf games has a lot more costs involved than you might expect. Crucially, besides the costs per event to use our venue and rent/maintain all of the game running equipment, there are also substantial start of year costs. Those costs are coming due.
We usually rely on the income from each year to cover the startup costs for the year following. None of the money made at our games has ever gone to our admins' pockets. We use those funds to keep holding games and improve our setup. Indeed, some of our admins have sunk a good amount of their own money into the organization to help it keep running. We are no longer enough. The drought of last season and the risk of a second shortened season mean we may not be able to keep going.
So now we come to you with a choice. If we're going to continue as an organization, we're going to need your help. Most beneficial are direct donations, which can be made here. Additionally, we are expanding our selections of merchandise. We are also opening up ticket-pre-orders good for any of our first 3 games of the year (whenever we start up). That last one poses a risk, because if we don't get enough money to start up again, obviously those tickets sales are effectively just donations. For that reason, among others, if we are unable to make enough money to start this season back up, any money raised will go to a combination of paying existing costs as well as contributions to other nerf organizations in the region to help keep the hobby going strong.
No matter what happens, what decisions you all collectively make, we love you all, and we're proud to have brought joy to you these last few years. Thank you all for your support, past and present, and we look forward to whatever the future may bring.
With our sincerest thanks and regards,
The SMDHON Admin Team