Hi,
"HOWEVER, my "SOS Sponsors" have the option of turning OFF the top banner in their profile. This is an advantage to being a sponsor."
I rather like this. Would you mind explaining how you did this?
To the original poster, have you considered sponsors? I too have lots of banners on my board, but to date (6 months of running banners) I have not made any money on them. The sponsorships however cover all my costs of running the board, with a little left for my partner and I.
I also have a content site attached to the board (well, actually the other way around

) which is not free. The board is a nice marketing tool for this site, and that one does generate a decent amount of revenue.
Sanuk!