My one comment and it is a major one is this is ALL USA stuff. While are we looking at USA laws?
As I have said before I would rather no legal entity then one based on USA laws. Also when you say things like 'tax exemption(s)' you mean for USA tax payers. Thank god I am not and never will be one. Last time I checked this is a world wide movement that happened to start in USA. This may sound like a rant because it kinda is. If other non North American people can speak up it will be great, otherwise I will just fade back as a lurker on this pet peeve of mine. Steven Heath PS I lived for 9 years in Canada, married a Canadian and both my kids were born in Canada so I do have some perspective and 'experience' of the Norther American vs 'the rest' views. On 23 February 2010 17:47, rachel young <rac...@camaraderie.ca> wrote: > > Hi all, > > On 16 February 2010 13:40, rachel young <rac...@camaraderie.ca> wrote: >> >> I am volunteering to look into what an international co-op or association >> could be, and I'll report back pros and cons to the group in a few days. (or >> maybe by Mon, given what my weekend already looks like) >> r. >> > > If you don't want to read all of this info, please scroll to the end to find > a link to a very simple survey. > > There has been both support in favour of and warnings against forming some > sort of organisation. So, as promised, here is a high level comparison of > the different types of formal organisations we could form - this info is not > to sway your opinion for or against such an organisation, but merely to help > inform you of some options. Since there is money involved (now with the > acquisition of coworking.com, and potentially in future for conferences or > even other currently unknown opportunities similar to the domain > acquisition) I do recommend that if we decide we want some sort of > organisation then it should be a formal legal entity. In keeping with the > wish that this not be to any one person's benefit, the only two real options > would be a co-op or a non-profit. > > Co-operative > A co-op is an autonomous association of persons (or companies with one > representative) united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, > and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and > democratically-controlled enterprise which is incorporated. > > PROS > > one share, one vote > all members are owners, all members share in the profits through dividends > > CONS > > a fair amount of red tape for the initial set up and distribution of > dividends > all members essentially run the company, unless staff are hired (many of us > run our own company in addition to running the business of our coworking > spaces, so this would be a third company) > it is grammatically correct to include a hyphen in "co-op" or "co-operative" > and aesthetically that would look weird with "coworking" (this is not a > real point either way, just inserting some rib-jabbing levity in between > corporate mumbo jumbo) > > Non-profit Corporation > Forming a nonprofit corporation is much like creating a regular corporation, > except that nonprofits have to take the extra steps of applying for > tax-exempt status. Also called a 501(c)(3) in the USA. > > PROS > > tax exemption(s) > greater qualification for grants > business activities cannot result in personal benefit for any director, > officer, or member, which helps in keeping this community as great as it is > > CONS > > cannot participate in political lobbying (influencing legislation) as a > substantial part of its total activities (if ever we want to band together > to show support in affecting legislation in any country) > there may be some restrictions on the use of assets to purposes justifying > tax exemption > > Does anyone know of another form of legal organisational entity that would > be a possible fit for our community? > > Basically, from what I could find, it would take forming an organisation in > one country and then crafting the bylaws to include international members. > > All forms would essentially be governance, meaning that there would be one > body to make decisions for the betterment of all members or interested > parties, whether that body is composed of one representative from each > coworking space for a co-op or a smaller board of representatives for a > non-profit organisation. Either way, the structure would include variations > of these steps: > > Choose a Business Name > Prepare and File Articles of Incorporation > Apply for Applicable Tax Exemption(s) > Draft Corporate Bylaws > Appoint Directors > Hold a Directors' Meeting (attendees can be virtual in most cases) > Obtain Applicable Licenses and Permits > > Survey > And with that, I think it is time for a straightforward survey on > international governance. It's time to collect brief answers to decide if we > move forward, and then if yes then how to move forward. The survey is > anonymous, but please decide amongst yourselves in your coworking space and > answer as one collective body for your space. This is the only way I can see > it being fair so that multiple people from one space don't stack the votes > for their own benefit, but is completely replying on the honour system. > Survey results will be public but I'll also summarise them in a week or so. > > Here's hoping this is helpful. > r. > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > -- Steven Heath Director, Foxbane Consulting Founder, AltSpace Cell: +64 21 706-067 www.foxbane.co.nz Level 22 Plimmer Towers 2 Gilmer Terrace Wellington AltSpace.co.nz - Shared office space in Wellington for home based workers, freelancers, or nimble companies -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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