[hackerspaces] Classes and costs

[Pete Prodoehl]

Because my space sometimes has gloom and doom people, someone brought up 
the idea that if you charge for a class, you could be held responsible 
if someone in the class gets injured. This would be different than if 
you did *not* charge for a class because there is no (or less?) 
expectation of responsibility if you are not charging for your 
services/expertise.

I think the thought is that a student would try to sue you personally 
versus the space, and there was a suggestion that individuals who teach 
should get their own personal insurance that would cover the teaching 
they do. (The space has its own insurance and waiver/disclaimer forms 
that everyone signs.)

I am definitely not a lawyer, but I'd love to hear what others think of 
that idea. (And yes, I am in the overly-litigious United States.)

Pete


On 7/21/16 10:42 AM, Silence Dogood wrote:
> one side benefit of charging for classes is allowing the class 
> teachers to profit.  this can be particularly important for space 
> members who need supplemental income to afford their dues or to get 
> them by between contracts / gigs / what have you.
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 21, 2016 at 6:24 AM, webmind <webmind at puscii.nl 
> <mailto:webmind at puscii.nl>> wrote:
>
>     On 20/07/16 17:48, Chad Elish wrote:
>     > Here’s a question for everyone,
>     >
>     > What do you normally charge for your classes?
>     > I know its a big cash cow for spaces to make up income.
>
>     Hmm, not here. I think most Dutch spaces mostly run on
>     membership-income.
>
>     Both spaces in Amsterdam do not have a set price, LAG generally asks
>     donation Technologia Incognita mostly the same or people ask
>     cost-price.
>     IJHack (a "space" without a space) has been doing workshops to
>     generate
>     some income, I think they did twice the cost price to have a buffer of
>     components or be able to share kits.
>
>     > We’re currently at $40.00 for a learn to solder class which you take
>     > home an arduino you soldered together. We recently noticed tech shop
>     > charging $99 for soldering a blinking badge together.
>
>     Do a lot of spaces elsewhere use workshops/services as a way of
>     providing basic-income for the space? Do spaces have other models
>     outside of services or membership to generate base-income?
>
>     At LAG we're currently looking at alternative ways of generating
>     income
>     for the rent/etc.
>
>     Thanks!
>
>     webmind
>

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