#### Just letting everyone know that the prizes for the Open Mic contest will be reduced until further notice. ####

@pfunk has been donating Steem to go towards the Open Mic contest. He usually gives at least 200 Steem and I kick in another 100 Steem each week.

<center>https://i.imgsafe.org/1d/1d27674288.jpeg</center>

<center>[Source](https://steemit.com/transfersteem/@eliyahu/how-to-donate-steem-within-the-steemit-community)</center>

Unfortunately, for the last few weeks, @pfunk has slipped to the number 21 position as a witness. That means he earns less and as a result has been donating 100 Steem and I have been making up the difference with another 200 Steem.

I don't earn enough Steem to continue doing that. It's a lot of work to run Open Mic and I don't mind the work or even paying for it, but it is not sustainable at this point. I'm actually losing Steem giving that much as a prize.

So until we can get @pfunk back into the top 20 or find some other sources of funding, or get enough upvotes on the Open Mic posts to cover the Steem prize I have no choice but to reduce the prize payouts.

I hope everyone understands.

You can upvote @pfunk as a witness [here](https://steemit.com/~witnesses)

https://steemit.com/~witnesses

Just scroll down until you see his name and upvote it. You will need to log in with your active key to do so.

Thanks for understanding and I will let everyone know if this changes in the future.

---

The new payout, for now, beginning week 86 will be: (*Week 85 will still payout 300 Steem as promised*)

100 Steem from @pfunk
100 Steem from @luzcypher


### Prizes ###

1st: 80 Steem
2nd: 40 Steem
3rd: 26 Steem
4th: 26 Steem
5th: 26 Steem

---

<center>[![luzcypher-emoji-verified-2.png](https://s16.postimg.org/fg72y0snp/luzcypher_emoji_verified_2.png)](https://steemit.com/@luzcypher)</center>