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<DIV>NSL doesn’t charge for classes at all, nor do you have to be a member or on
a public day. Even in a few instances not even for materials, we do have the
donation boxes but usually the only one that sees any love is the drinks
one.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>A sign up list/RSVP is how we handle the number of people to expect. If the
class is too popular, split it into groups if you can, have the ones that learnt
the most, teach the next.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Some people have wanted to charge for classes, and we’ve redirected them to
another space that does this.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If materials are needed we either use what is available at the space, have
people bring stuff or replace it later. Which has varying levels of
success.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>charlie</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=myself@telcodata.us
href="mailto:myself@telcodata.us">Nathaniel Bezanson</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, September 27, 2012 10:02 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=discuss@lists.hackerspaces.org
href="mailto:discuss@lists.hackerspaces.org">Hackerspaces General Discussion
List</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [hackerspaces] New to the list and have some questions
on offering classes</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
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<P align=left>At i3 Detroit, we hardly ever charge for classes. There's a
somewhat neglected writeup here:</P>
<P align=left><A
href="http://i3detroit.com/wi/index.php?title=HOWTO_Host_an_event_at_i3detroit">http://i3detroit.com/wi/index.php?title=HOWTO_Host_an_event_at_i3detroit</A></P><BR>
<P align=left>On our calendar, we have a lot of informal events. Hangouts,
birds-of-a-feather, whatever you want to call them. There's no attendance limit,
and they're generally announced on our mailing lists. Sometimes we talk about
'em on the main site blog, which gets a much broader readership. For these sorts
of things, it doesn't matter how many people show up, the more the merrier.
</P><BR>
<P align=left>And then, there are more-formal events and classes, of the sort
that get deliberately advertised to the outside world. These get a little more
planning, and we usually use Eventbrite as an easy registration system that lets
people claim seats and helps us plan for how many folks might show up. It's
especially handy for very-small groups, like one I'm leading Saturday where five
or six people is about the limit. If it books up, we'll run it again
soon!</P><BR>
<P align=left>I've never charged money for a class that I've run, though a few
other members have. What I do is take a break about halfway through the class,
and mention that there's pop in the fridge, maybe lead an expedition to the
kitchen so we can all grab a drink. While everyone's relaxing, I'll gesture to
the donation jar, and explain about how i3 is a nonprofit, and where our money
comes from, and how much we spend on rent and utilities, and what a similar
class might cost over at TechShop. Once the gasps of horror subside, I wander
outside, or to the bathroom, or something else for a few minutes. When I come
back, there's invariably a bunch of cash in the jar. Then I thank everyone for
their support and continue on with the second half of the class. </P><BR>
<P align=left>That's aside from materials fees, of course. If we're using
consumables, everyone pays their share, even members. But for the class time
itself, it's free, and if people find value in it, they're welcome to contribute
whatever they feel is appropriate. I've never been disappointed in the jar's
contents at the end of the night.</P><BR>
<P align=left>It occurs to me that our treasurer's paypal address should be
written on the donation jar. </P><BR>
<P align=left>As for what happens to the money afterward, that's a matter of
some discussion. We did a member survey recently where the overwhelming majority
thought that folks leading classes should pocket some portion of the proceeds. I
was surprised by that, as I've always just thrown it into the general fund. I
think there might be tax implications to splitting it up, and frankly I'd rather
not worry about that. It does strike me as totally cool that the member who
"earned" that money should have some say on how it's spent, such as, "we just
had a really well-received electronics class, I'd like the group to spend that
money on a new oscilloscope", or whatever. Alternately, it might be interesting
to put out two jars, labeled "instructor" and "group"? I dunno. </P><BR>
<P align=left>One more thing:</P><BR>
<P align=left>In all the above, I spoke of a single instructor for simplicity,
though in reality, a "buddy system" works much better. There's a subject-matter
expert who actually leads the activity, and there's a guest-wrangler who helps
with everything else. From signing guests in at the door, to showing people
where the bathroom is, to making sure pens and power strips get where they're
needed, all the stuff that would interrupt the flow if the instructor had to do
it. This turns out to be a really great way to convince folks at the right-edge
of the proverbial Dunning-Kruger curve that they really do have what it takes to
lead their own classes, and to help newbie members feel helpful. Sometimes both
at once.</P><BR>
<P align=left>-Nathaniel-</P><BR>
<P align=left><BR>Ward De Ridder wrote:<BR></P>
<P align=left>Hi Phil<BR><BR>I can tell you how we organize it (at hackerspace
voidwarranties Antwerp).<BR>We don't have the problem of having too many people
over at a workshop, <BR>so I don't know a solution for that.<BR><BR>But as for
price, most of the time we say members: free, non-members: €5 <BR>(about $6,5).
If we have a really expensive speaker, or some material <BR>will be provided
(like components for some soldering workshop) we charge <BR>more for both
members and non-members. Members from other hackerspaces <BR>pay the same as our
own hackerspace.<BR><BR>Ward<BR><BR>On 09/22/12 19:55, Phillip Broussard
wrote:<BR>> Hey all, I'm Phil with the SquidFoo hackerspace. I've been
lurking on<BR>> the list for a bit but I finally found a reason to introduce
myself.<BR>><BR>> We need to start offering some classes/training to our
members and the<BR>> public. Do you all have any suggestions or advice for
doing this? I'm<BR>> worried we will offer a class and allow to many people
to register or<BR>> limit it to to few. Pricing is also an issue. We have no
idea what we<BR>> should charge or what things should be a free
service.<BR>><BR>> Any way, nice to meet you all and thanks for the
advice.<BR>><BR>> Phil<BR>>
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