[hackerspaces] Governance questions

[Ben Brown]

Comments Inline.

On 10/16/2013 5:11 PM, Randall G. Arnold wrote:
> 1) Is your foundation tied specifically to a space, or operating in 
> support of one or more spaces in an area?

Not necessarily. We've always only had one space, and have moved once 
already. We've entertained the idea of having multiple locations for 
different purposes, or possibly opening some sort of space closer to the 
university. Right now though, while we have extra monthly income, we're 
looking to improve our current space first.

> 2) How are your Board members elected/selected?

Members nominate others (or themselves) to run for the (7 person) board, 
which is elected every year at our Annual General Member Meeting. Once 
the board is elected, they decide the Secretary, Treasurer and President 
among them. We need a board to be a non-profit corporation in Ontario 
(Canada). It's a bit different from the 501c3 status in the States.

> 3) What are your thoughts on your connection to the Make community-- 
> are you a representative body?  Corporate-styled authority? Separate 
> but supporting?

We are a representative body, we welcome makers of all types and like to 
do events with organizations with similar interests.

> 4) If you take a bottom-up, grassroots, community-first approach to 
> governance, have you found that to be a hindrance for sponsorships and 
> donations?

When it comes to donations/grants, it's all about getting your name out 
(in a good way). Participate in the community and the community will 
want to help you. That said, we don't like to solicit sponsorships for 
anything except specific events. Too many strings attached and we don't 
want anyone else's fingers in our pie ;)

Ben
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