3.5.5.5 Voluntary donations

It may be possible for the Membership to collect some, though almost certainly not all, of its operating budget from the voluntary contributions of its members, especially if such a contribution were made very easy. The Membership could establish a wide variety of voluntary contribution mechanisms without running afoul of democratic values, and should be encouraged to do so. This experience might also prove valuable in the future, should the Membership decide to revisit the concept of membership fees.

One promising idea, suggested during our study, included voluntary contributions solicited at the time of domain name registration. Through this system, a domain-name registrant could decide to donate-in collaboration with the registrar-a small percentage of the registration fee to the At-Large Membership. This donation could be part of the registration fee (with the cost thus borne by the registrars) or it could be in addition to the registration fee (with the added cost borne by the user). Either way, the ease of donation and collection at registration should help with administration of the donation. This would also have the useful side effect of informing and educating registrants about the role and function of ICANN.

3.5.5.4 Government contributions

3.5.5.6 Recommendation