I have read through all of this and agree that some sort of funding is a good idea, but as most people have already said - the question is how?
In my opinion the best approach is to not be too dependant on any one source as you end up with a definite sink or swim situation and things could just sink. The key is for people to believe they are getting value for money, if they perceive something to be good value for money then the take up will be high. Everybody loves a bargain!!
I would agree with a fee on sales transacted via oOple is fair, although personally I would think either a percentage figure of the sale or fixed monetary rate would be better than an annual fee. Someome would have to do the number crunching to see which was most beneficial to oOple. I guess enforcing the percentage of sale fee would also be more difficult as it is open to manipulation....
Another aspect I would look at would be to ramp up the oOple merchandise, have t shirts, hoodies, pit towels, decals etc all for sale directly from the site.
Another potential huge earner could be click through referral payments from the advertisers on the site. So anyone who clicks through to an online retailer and purchases something, a percentage of the sale or a fixed fee goes to oOple. I appreciate that retailers margins are tight so I'm not suggesting they give large percentages, but a fraction of a percentage would all add up. This is a huge money spinner on the web in general so could be something to consider!?
Also the oOple race.... I don't know the financials of it as it stands but this could be a real cash cow for the site if the numbers were right and it was marketed correctly. Just about every small independent club relies largely on an annual flag ship event to fund the next 12 months. Whether that be a rugby club running a tournament, a club holding some sort of sale or whatever else it may be. If marketed correctly then I am sure all those attending would be happy to pay that little bit extra to fund the running of oOple. As well as the entry fee there would also be plenty of opportunity to raise additional funds during the event. So things like raffles, contracted catering with a percentage of takings, race sponsorship etc.
I am sure there are many other potential revenue streams but off the top of my head these few certainly wouldn't hurt...?