The financial arrangements are simple. Our Admin goes into his pocket to pay the overhead, which consists of the hosting for the site, any excessive data transfer fees that might occur and the renewable license for the forum software.

Is it enough to drive anyone to the poorhouse? No. However, if the addition of advertising will let the forum generate enough revenue to pay for itself, then it eases the out-of-pocket expense.

As for the institution of paid subscriptions, that's an option that some Admins have resorted to using. I'm not a fan of them, myself. Too many problems in the equation. The first being the agony of setting up a payment method. The second being that not everyone can afford to pay or will want to pay. If there is a free section and a paid section, then you have to decide what content needs to go where. Why should I pay to read what someone else reads for free? Can you say Pandora's Box?

It's pretty simple to scroll from the first message to the second without ever seeing the ads. And that prevents all of the pay-per-view hassles that accompany the other option.