<html> <head> <style></style> </head> <body class='hmmessage'> <div>Hi Folks,</div><div><br></div>OK... my 2 cents (USA) worth. I think membership fees are a bad idea.<i> SugarLabs membership should be as free as its software</i>. <div><br></div><div>If there is a valid need for funds, there are many other ways that other non-profits raise money. The first one that comes to mind is one that I have seen several NGOs use... the auction. Sometimes it is online. Other times it is conducted as a "silent auction" at an event. Prizes are almost always donated by members or by businesses and individuals who are interested in the organization. They can include almost any imaginable thing, as long as it is legal!</div><div><br></div><div>Caryl<br><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br>> Date: Sun, 5 Jun 2011 23:00:22 +0200<br>> From: e0425826@student.tuwien.ac.at<br>> To: sascha-ml-reply-to-2011-3@silbe.org<br>> CC: iaep@lists.sugarlabs.org<br>> Subject: Re: [IAEP] Membership fees<br>> <br>> Am 05.06.2011 17:04, schrieb Sascha Silbe:<br>> > Excerpts from Bernie Innocenti's message of Sun Jun 05 06:33:40 +0200 2011:<br>> > <br>> >>>> * Membership fees<br>> >>><br>> >>> Could you elaborate what you have in mind here? :-)<br>> >><br>> >> It's a prototype idea, not yet discussed anywhere yet. I'd like to know<br>> >> what the board members would think about asking a yearly fee from<br>> >> members and, in case there's interest, how it could be implemented.<br>> > <br>> > Whatever you choose to do, please do not *require* membership fees.<br>> > Their existence alone is enough to make it impossible for a lot of<br>> > people to join. They might even be able to afford the actual membership<br>> > fee, but not necessarily the associated costs of transferring the money<br>> > to Sugar Labs - given that's possible at all.<br>> > <br>> > I wouldn't mind *optional* membership "fees", i.e. yearly donations.<br>> > But it should be the decision of the member. Don't require proof of<br>> > being too poor to pay the fee. It's impossible to do; been there, tried<br>> > that, failed to convince to other party. Besides there's a high<br>> > psychological barrier to admit that you're poor.<br>> > <br>> > Instead just *encourage* people to donate a recurring amount of their<br>> > choosing. Do a direct debit from their bank account, with a minimum<br>> > amount to cover banking costs (they still have the option not to donate<br>> > at all). Publish donations above a certain threshold on the website,<br>> > maybe using several different thresholds and calling them bronze /<br>> > silver / gold sponsors (or some sweet equivalent).<br>> <br>> I don't know how other organizations handle it (and I'd definitely like<br>> to hear more about that!) but my initial gut reaction is to agree with<br>> Sascha.<br>> <br>> As he also mentions the hassle and cost of actually transferring the<br>> money (particularly if it's on a recurring basis) mustn't be<br>> underestimated. It's just amazing just how time-consuming and/or costly<br>> it is in the year 2011 to transfer money between Europe and the United<br>> States, let alone some Latin American countries!<br>> <br>> So just from that point of view hackerspaces such as Noisebridge (since<br>> Sameer mentioned that example) with a strong local component are in a<br>> much easier situation here. Plus in some sense it's more obvious what<br>> kind of expenses these organizations occur with their physical spaces,<br>> equipment, etc.<br>> <br>> Just my 2 eurocents;-)<br>> Christoph<br>> <br>> -- <br>> Christoph Derndorfer<br>> co-editor, www.olpcnews.com<br>> e-mail: christoph@olpcnews.com<br>> _______________________________________________<br>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)<br>> IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org<br>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep<br></div></div> </body> </html>