[hackerspaces] Accommodations for lower income space members

[Pete Prodoehl]

At Milwaukee Makerspace we've run our "Makership" program a few times, 
which is gives someone a 3-month membership for free to work on 
something cool. The program is outlined here:

     http://milwaukeemakerspace.org/makership/

Besides that, we've had members who needed help and other members have 
pitched in XX number of dollars each month to help them cover their 
membership. This is sort of a mini-crowdfunding method of covering 
someone's dues, I guess.

We also do a sort of decreased dues thing for students, veterans, family 
members, etc. (Though we'll probably move to a single membership level 
this year, which will make much of this moot.)

Pete


On 2/16/14, 9:35 AM, Edward L Platt wrote:
>
>     a) have some sort of sponsorship program?
>
> i3 Detroit has tried a few different things.  For long time, we had a 
> two-tier membership system where the lower-paying tier had equal 
> access to the shop, but no voting rights.  The lower tier was intended 
> to be for those who didn't use lots of space/equipment (crafters, 
> coders, etc.) and those who were in financial need, but it was 
> self-enforced, and eventually nearly everyone wound up on the lower 
> tier so we switched to a single tier.
>
> A couple years ago, we also passed a "scholarship" program that 
> creates one dues-free membership for every 10 dues-paying members. 
>  Anyone can apply and they spots are granted on a 6 month basis. 
>  Unfortunately, this policy proved unpopular with the membership and 
> subsequent boards and it was never implemented.  There seems to be a 
> widespread impression that people not paying dues will be less 
> invested in the space and will not be able to contribute (a view I 
> personally disagree with).
>
>     b) have a credits-for-space work/administration system?
>
> I've heard of this, but as Willow once pointed out at a Space 
> Federation meet-up, those in financial need don't necessarily have 
> more disposable time, and might actually have less.
>
> -Ed
>
>
>     We're writing our business plan and want to ensure that we block
>     out such accommodations in a workable manner, but are having a bit
>     of trouble finding a working model within the hackerspace world.
>
>     Shirley Hicks
>     Board member-at-large
>     Red Mountain Makers
>     5502 1st Avenue North
>     Birmingham, AL 35212
>
>     Email: redmtnadm at redmountainmakers.org
>     <mailto:redmtnadm at redmountainmakers.org>
>     Home email: shirley at velochicdesign.com
>     <mailto:shirley at velochicdesign.com>
>     www.redmountainmakers.org <http://www.redmountainmakers.org>
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>
>
>
> -- 
> Edward L. Platt
> http://elplatt.com
> http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt
> http://i3detroit.com
> @elplatt <http://twitter.com/elplatt>
>
>
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