In terms of last year's overage of almost $12,000, yes, that helped me determine the ask. But the main reason is that $72,000, give or take, is really what I need to cover the 50% costs. When I started off asking for $60,000 last year, I knew I was under what I needed by a few thousand dollars but it turns out I really underestimated the cost of benefits--which, in the U.S., is largely health insurance. Had I only gotten $60,000, I'd be scrambling now to figure out how to pump another $10,000+ into the UC system to cover the months through June. Since I raised $72,000 last year, I figured it was not unrealistic to be able to get $75,000 this year.
One difference is that the Crowdrise platform reminded donors that the system took a cut and asked if they wanted to add more to cover that. When people get asked that, most don't mind adding to what they're giving, so the full amount they wanted to give goes for the cause they're donating to. The Berkeley platform doesn't seem to have that prompt. So in reality, if I raise $75,000, the total that goes to cover costs for me is that amount minus the 7.5% that Berkeley takes--5% is the standard gift fee for any donation to the university, and 2.5% is to process the crowdfunding etc. But that's ok. If I get within a few thousand, there's no problem finding a bit more working on other projects.
The truth is I'd do this as a full-time thing if I could bring in more money to cover it. I really am trying to spend half my work-time for other projects. But that's challenging because there are so many things that I need to investigate and write about for this project, and I continue to find it intellectually very stimulating and engaging--not to mention that it's important to do. Even though it sounds like I'm asking for a lot of money, San Francisco is expensive and it's hard to live on a half-time income. That's why it would be great if I could again get more than I'm asking for. Berkeley could put me at 60% or 71% or 82% and I could turn down some other work. But whatever. I'll keep doing it regardless.
My main concern is making sure I have health insurance through the state of California, because getting it through Obamacare would be very expensive for a 61-year-old, and I wouldn't be eligible for the subsidies. Plus the individual insurance from Obamacare is always going to be worse than insurance obtained as an employee of the University of California. It's all a big mess--not to mention that Trump is chipping away at Obamacare and it could disappear or just be unviable at some point in the not too distant future.
