My two cents, the 3D printer is a nifty idea, however sounds like cost per print isn't cheap.. So no matter what they're should be a charge to print anything. These charges would cover most of new martial for the printer and possibly bring slight income to the space. I still looking for work so I'm not able to donte directly for the 3d printer but I would be more than willing to pay to use it if it does come to fruition.
Cheers!! On Jan 24, 2013, at 2:41 PM, Justin Lacko <jus...@takaji.ca> wrote: > If you're able to expand on "scary," I'd like to hear it. Often deficit > spending is a necessary measure to stimulate. I agree with you that members > have been very willing to step up to cover costs - but I think we should get > to a point where the organisation is able to start helping out, but not > taking over that duty. > > Since we moved, we have been experiencing a period of growth. I think that is > the best time to implement this theory. If we were at a steady decline or had > stagnated for months with no new members, I would not recommend this. The > only place we're going from here is up! :) > > Regardless of whether my $100 goes to a 3D printer or not, I will still > donate to SkullSpace, as per the pledge I made and will follow through on. > However, it's discouraging to be donating to a group that is afraid to spend > when good opportunities come around - I know that if I was considering > donating, and knew my money would just go "in the bank to sit," I would not > be as eager to open my wallet. People just like to have an idea of how their > money is actively being used - this is a practice that is very commonly used > by many organisations when you donate to them. Think of "when you donate, you > money actively goes to help blah in need, or blah to fix blah." SkullSpace > doesn't have any text like that, people are simply asked to "donate." > > > On 24 January 2013 14:29, Ron <r...@skullsecurity.net> wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > I think that a lot of the "extra" stuff - like a $100 monthly 'project > fund', the $1350 we need for a 3d printer, etc - needs to come from the > member base, and so far the member base has been more than willing to > kick in when needed. Adding expense when we have a deficit already is > scary. > > On a related note, and for another topic, I'm thinking of putting > together something like the 'Awesome Foundation', except > SkullSpace-specific. It turns out that because of the amount we've > helped the Awesome Foundation to find members and have meeting space and > such, the other trustees think it would look bad to fund > SkullSpace-related projets, effectively kinda screwing ourselves. So > instead of being part of the actual AF, what if we bring together some > sksp members who have extra income that they're willing to invest (even > 10 people @ $20/month), and help direct that money towards a SkullSpace > project? Basically, use the same model, but for sksp? > > Sorry for kinda going on.. that's just an idea that I've been tossing > around in my head lately. > > Anyway, I'm fine with a committee to look at our budget and how we can > improve it. I'd like Jay and Mark Jenkins to both be present on it, > since they've handled a lot of the budgeting up till now. > > Ron > > On 2013-01-24 14:19, Justin Lacko wrote: > > The "official" policy of SkullSpace currently is that until we balance our > > budget, we can't spend on anything except the basics - such as rent and > > power. This is a fiscally-conservative policy. I believe we need to still > > have nominal spending while operating at a deficit, for reasons which I > > will outline below. > > > > We are currently operating at a deficit. We can pay our bills each month > > without a problem; we have three months of rent in our coffers. But our > > monthly income is less than our expenses. The targeted fix for this problem > > is to increase membership through whatever means available, such as > > advertising at conventions. > > > > When I worked on the plan for SkullSpace 2.0, I knew that we had to expand > > our membership base and ask for more money. Looking back since we moved to > > the new space at the beginning of December, we certainly have worked on > > this goal. Lately, it seems membership has again plateaued (I base this > > observation on the fact that there haven't been any recent emails from > > Courtney announcing new members). What I want to outline is that we need to > > continue to work on getting more members if we want to eliminate our > > deficit. > > > > I think that our current fiscally-conservative spending policy is not > > beneficial to the long-term goals of SkullSpace. I believe that right now > > is the most important time to be investing SkullSpace capital into the > > space, in creative ways that will bring in new members. The constant > > reminder of "we can't spend a penny until we break even each month" is not > > encouraging and dampens any creative thought for how SkullSpace can grow - > > because sometimes ideas/things need money. I offer the example of our > > now-defunct monthly $100 prize to be awarded to a worthy member-nominated > > project. While we may not be able to afford $100 monthly now, we could > > bring it back at $50 each month, or a similar level. > > > > A basic projection, without knowing exact numbers, is that it will take at > > least 6 months or more to break even with our income and expenses, with the > > assumption that membership continues to grow. I don't think that we should > > wait until this time before spending money. While deficit spending is a > > hotly-debated issue, it is beneficial as a means of injecting stimulus in > > order to continue growth in a stagnant economy. The current situation is > > the funding of a 3D printer for the space - much of which has graciously > > been funded by the membership. A 3D printer would arguably bring in more > > members, with the promise of using a novel machine as an added bonus to > > their membership. A $100 donation from SkullSpace hardly seems harmful, and > > I think that we are missing an opportunity to contribute to a really good > > idea. > > > > I propose that we form a committee to assist with budgetary decisions, as > > Jay is stepping down at the next election, and make the entire process much > > more membership-oriented. The job of treasurer for a fledgling organisation > > is one with many duties, and understandably one person can easily get burnt > > out with it. I would volunteer to sit on this committee. Currently, our > > funding decisions are resting with a single person, which is unfair and > > does not follow the SkullSpace mantra/rule of members having a say in the > > running of SkullSpace. > > > > I think that going-forward, SkullSpace is in a good position right now and > > we are slowly working towards our goal of breaking even and eventually > > turning a profit. We need to continue to spend where members think it is > > necessary or else we will surely stagnate. > > > > Please respond with opinions, criticisms, rebukes, death threats, etc., but > > I'm hoping to keep this discussion on-topic. > > > > ~Justin > > > _______________________________________________ > > SkullSpace Discuss Mailing List > > Help: http://www.skullspace.ca/wiki/index.php/Mailing_List#Discuss > > Archive: https://groups.google.com/group/skullspace-discuss-archive/ > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v2.0.19 (GNU/Linux) > > iEYEARECAAYFAlEBmasACgkQ2t2zxlt4g/TTxQCgq27BtFyLHLN9JVoORA589WI9 > aw4AoJQxsSF3VU+zaDAPFsUrN8qVrYN+ > =HBgr > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > _______________________________________________ > SkullSpace Discuss Mailing List > Help: http://www.skullspace.ca/wiki/index.php/Mailing_List#Discuss > Archive: https://groups.google.com/group/skullspace-discuss-archive/ > > _______________________________________________ > SkullSpace Discuss Mailing List > Help: http://www.skullspace.ca/wiki/index.php/Mailing_List#Discuss > Archive: https://groups.google.com/group/skullspace-discuss-archive/
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