2008/9/19 Delphine Ménard notafishz@gmail.com:
On Thu, Sep 18, 2008 at 16:14, Thomas Dalton thomas.dalton@gmail.com wrote:
One presumes WMF's offer to assist with setup costs may still stand as well?
If it comes down it to it, we can always go cap in hand to the WMF, yes, but I think if we need to there's a problem. If the chapter can't do enough fundraising to cover it's setup costs in a reasonable amount of time and reimburse the board, then we need to reconsider the whole thing. If we need to go to the WMF for setup costs, where are we going to get the money to actually do anything?
And that should be the right set of mind.
This said, I reiterate here that especially in terms of legal advice (or financial advice re: Bank account), the Foundation will be happy to chip in. WMF has worked, works or will work with pro-bono firms in the legal field that should be able to provide some legal advice.
If you have contacts with pro-bono firms in the UK, we would very much like to hear about it. Obviously, US legal advice is of very limited use.
That is the one field, I'd say, where you shouldn't let yourself be stopped by prices. Sound advice now will save everyone (including WMF) money and time down the line. It might even bring lots of money in faster than we think ;)
That's certainly my thinking. I want to make sure we get all the governing documents just right so everything is in place from the start. Changing even the smallest thing once we're set up and especially once we're registered with the charities commission, involves a lot of paperwork and we're not guaranteed to be allowed to make the changes.