[hackerspaces] Cash flow?

[Casey Callendrello]

There are a couple best practices we've settled on at Noisebridge
(shocking, I know):

1) Make it aggressively easy for people to set up *recurring* donations.
Steer everyone and anyone towards that.
2) Encourage sliding scale donations, for those blessed by the tech boom
3) Put a big piggy-bank right by the front door. But don't let it get
stolen like we did.
4) Have a pre-written spiel describing just how important donations are,
to be read before public events
4.5) Break down exactly how much it costs, per day, to run the space.
Transparency in budgeting can drive home the point.
5) Get registered as a 501(c)3 if US-based. Then some employers will do
matching donations


Some other spaces rent out "private" square footage for members as
needed. This works really well for Artisan's Asylum.

HTH,
--Casey

On 2/11/13 10:00 PM, Mark Janssen wrote:
> On Mon, Feb 11, 2013 at 9:45 PM, Tamara <Tamara at brownpapertickets.com> wrote:
> \> I'm seeking ideas for how to consistently cover our rent each month and
>> still have some funds left over for consumables, necessities and perhaps a
>> small emergency fund. We currently have a scaled membership and teach a
>> number of classes each month, but there's often a gap between what we make
>> each month and what we need to cover it all without panic, begging, and
>> general freaking out. We've begun a series of fundraising meetings to
>> discuss additional ideas for what might work, but I'm wondering - what works
>> best for your hackerspace?
> Hi Tamara.  I am going to watch your conversation with great interest,
> because I don't believe there is yet a stable model for hackerspaces,
> although I do suggest a auto-paypermonth "subscription"/membership
> that some hackerspaces have employed.  Otherwise, I'm working on the
> software to make the [[[hackerspace economic system]]], that will
> allow hackerspaces to aggregate community events into a
> self-sustaining model (the focus of my research is self-organizing
> systems).  It's over at pangaia.sourceforge.net if you want to look at
> it.  Wish you luck.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Mark
> Tacoma, WA
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