On 30 Oct 2008, at 17:58, Thomas Dalton wrote:
The major downside to not charging a membership fee prior to the general meeting is that there are no funds with which to hold the general meeting. We're hoping for a good turnout which really requires hiring a room. I think there's a good chance of getting 20-30 people, maybe more, and you fit those kinds of numbers round a table in a pub. I think we need to hire a function room in a pub or hotel, which is going to cost money (I honestly don't know what the going rate for such rooms is). I was interested in trying to make the AGM a one day conference about all things wiki with the AGM somewhere in the middle, although it may be best to leave that for future AGMs and keep the first one simple.
If you don't charge for membership at first, then you need to make it clear that membership fees will most likely be due as soon as the AGM finishes and membership will be terminated if they aren't paid with the day frame set down in the Articles (30 days? or was it 60?). (I don't think there is a legal requirement to make that clear, but I do think it's important to do so anyway.)
This is true. The alternative to charging membership fees up front is to ask for donations, either from the members/interested parties or from the appropriate suppliers. I like your idea of having a one-day wiki conference, but I think that it's best to have a simple first AGM; perhaps this is something that could be done a couple of months after the first AGM as a separate event for the first time?
Part of the reason for not charging for membership fees from the start was that it gives the next board freedom to choose how they want to do membership periods: they could for example have a single period for annual membership, running e.g. from 1 January to the end of December (although that's not the best timeframe from a getting- money-off-people point of view). That's easier to administrate. It could, I guess, do that regardless by asking for a top-up fee, or just extending the existing member's membership period until they became synchronous.
Fundamentally, this is something I'd like input on from the community: - What does the community think with requiring membership fees from the start? Good or bad? - If good, then what sort of level should they be at? - Should they be for a full year, or up to the next AGM?
Thanks, Mike