Transparency

Showing how the community resource is sustained

Transparency should not begin only when an organisation becomes large.

The Magyars of WA aims to progressively document how the portal is maintained, what its direct operating costs are, what voluntary support is received and what community participation it generates.

The purpose is simple:

If people support a community resource, they should be able to understand what their support helps sustain.

Portal operating costs

A periodic operating summary can report relevant direct costs.

2026–27 Community Resource Summary

Category Amount
Website/platform To be reported
Domain registration To be reported
Digital storage/archive To be reported
Software/services To be reported
Printing/community engagement To be reported
Other direct project costs To be reported
Total direct operating costs To be reported

How the resource is supported

Source Amount
Voluntary community financial support To be reported
Project/founder funding To be reported
Other disclosed support To be reported
Total To be reported

Figures can be updated periodically once voluntary financial support becomes operational.

Community contribution is more than money

Financial reporting tells only part of the story.

The portal can also progressively report indicators such as:

Community participation 2026–27
Community survey responses
People expressing interest
Volunteer contributors
Historical items contributed/digitised
Community organisations documented
Oral/community histories collected
Volunteer hours, where recorded
Portal/subscriber reach

These indicators may ultimately tell us considerably more about community engagement than financial contributions alone.

Principles for voluntary financial support

The project intends to operate according to several basic principles:

Voluntary — no financial contribution is required to participate in the public resource.

Transparent — material income and direct expenditure associated with public support should be capable of being reported.

Purpose-related — community financial support should be applied to the operation and development of the community resource.

No purchased influence — financial contributions should not purchase additional decision-making influence, community status or preferential access.

Proportionate administration — accountability should be sufficient to provide transparency without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

Developing the model openly

The financial-support mechanism is still being developed.

Before accepting public financial contributions, appropriate arrangements should be established for receiving funds, recording transactions, identifying permitted expenditure and reporting how support has been used.

As the project develops, this page can be expanded to include:

  • annual financial summaries;

  • operating-cost breakdowns;

  • community participation statistics;

  • project activity reports; and

  • relevant governance or transparency documents.

Why publish this?

Transparency creates an opportunity to demonstrate a different principle:

Community infrastructure can be open about what it costs, who participates and what is being achieved.

The objective is not simply to raise money.

The objective is to determine whether the wider community values the resource enough to participate in sustaining and developing it.


Participation is free. Financial support is optional. Contribution does not create membership rights or preferential influence.

 

Get involved

Transparency is only one part of building a sustainable community resource. You can also participate in community research, contribute knowledge or skills, or learn about voluntary support for the portal.

PARTICIPATE
CONTRIBUTE
SUPPORT THE PORTAL