Hey,
Just some minor feedback how we might get more fundraising (probably, these are just my opinions)
I think it's great that you show the fundraiser on the startpage, everyone will be able to see it, and people who wouldn't mind giving some money could do it very easily!
1. But I would suggest changing the background. It took me a long time to figure out it was fundraising for AoE3, I thought it was some random ad not related to aoe3 at all. At least write AoE3 on the banner! A background consisting of a photo of mountains looks more like a travel ad or something, which the eyes sort out and ignore automatically.
Maybe a more AoE-style of background would work better? And the more the banner is in the same style as the rest of the forum, the less likely it's seen as a non-related ad.
2. Make the whole banner clickable!
I think more people would actually see it