I've been building & running a niche website since 2015 that requires around 20hrs/wk in support, social media, and continued software development (all code gpl on github). It's become one of the most (if not the most) used software resources in my community, and users seem appreciative of my efforts.
But I very rarely get donations. Previous appeals on social media for donations have resulted in small bumps that quickly fade, so I'm focused more on trying to get subscription donors. Lately I've had some luck finding two business sponsors and now my Patreon at least covers the server costs. I think it's true what others said- in order to persuade these businesses I had to add a "sponsored by" section on the site with their logos. Ads, basically.
The 'tragedy of the commons' is definitely a thing. I'd be happy if people at least contributed new entries, photos, reviews, and comments to the website, but less than 1% of users actually do so.
Anyway, my next steps are to cold-call more potential business sponsors as well as to try selling merchandise related to the domain. If I can't get to about $1k/mo. this year I might need to just pull myself away from the project for my own financial stability and sanity.
This is speculative, but I think you have a real advantage being in a niche community. You say users seem appreciative of your efforts -- let them know who they're appreciating and exactly how they can best show their appreciation! I think a Wikipedia-style open letter or banner as another commenter suggested could really serve you well. If you let your community know, honest and ugly, that you can't continue to do this without support, you might get more traction.
Thanks for the advice, I think you are right. Due to your comment I've just been going through https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_reports for ideas. Marketing, social media, and fundraising are all skills that I definitely need to improve on.
While this may work, and would work on me if I really did love the project enough, I think the fact that a lot of companies use big, scary language like this (the most notable example is Wikipedia) means that this isn't a well-received option anymore.
But I very rarely get donations. Previous appeals on social media for donations have resulted in small bumps that quickly fade, so I'm focused more on trying to get subscription donors. Lately I've had some luck finding two business sponsors and now my Patreon at least covers the server costs. I think it's true what others said- in order to persuade these businesses I had to add a "sponsored by" section on the site with their logos. Ads, basically.
The 'tragedy of the commons' is definitely a thing. I'd be happy if people at least contributed new entries, photos, reviews, and comments to the website, but less than 1% of users actually do so.
Anyway, my next steps are to cold-call more potential business sponsors as well as to try selling merchandise related to the domain. If I can't get to about $1k/mo. this year I might need to just pull myself away from the project for my own financial stability and sanity.