NonProfit 501-C Status

[der.hans]

Am 06. Nov, 2010 schwätzte ChasM Marshall so:

moin moin,

>  Herding Penguins is a niche skill, but,
> I bet it's been done before.
>
>  Are there other 501-c user groups that have blazed this trail already?

Plenty.

>  I would be interested to see if any have failed after organizing.
> After all, business ventures always measure the down-side risks.

Bad follow through on paperwork and lack of volunteers are the biggest
problems in my experience.

>  This part does seem to be on the down side:
> "An ACTUAL business plan, etc.  with a financial statement are required."
> Hunting down a corporate CPA, or tax accountant, or other qualified non-penguin,
> this would be a good Second Step?  Yes?

I actually have this all lined up :). I even have a CPA wanting to use
Free Software for the books. The paperwork should not be an issue in the
future.

I would have to renew contacts and availability, but we have previous
commitments.

>  The First Step would be a general (penguin) agreement that
> the Phoenix area could really, actually, use this organization.
> PLUG already functions like a commUNITY resource, but,
> Penguins may not see the scale and perspective of this whole iceberg.

The first step is getting volunteers we can count on. This is also the
hardest step. For example, we need volunteers to coordinate meeting topics
( I have topics for January and February on both sides of town, but need
help getting it up on the site, following-up with the presenters, getting
word out, etc. ). If you would like to help bring it up on list or show up
to our planning meetings.

We can have money. Not tons, but enough to get started and still have a
small amount of regular income.

>  I've already seen THIS e-mail list benefit both the PLUG members (associates?)
> along with their employers.  So, I don't need to be sold on the non-profit idea.
> I would argue the opposite.
>
>  Right now, this group is a bit too "virtual" and slightly erratic.
> We change meeting times, and places, and our "responsibilities" are getting

We seldom change times, but have had to change places a lot recently. For
the most part we're still pretty stable in the east valley as we tend to
stay in locations for many years. The west side has been more problematic
for us. Thanks to Lyle and Tuna for getting us locations over there. We
need someone to lead the effort there. It doesn't take much work, but it
does take some regular effort.

> confused with the decision to wear a hat, or take an umbrella.
> It's pretty much hit or miss when I drive to Avondale (or now Glendale)
> from Tonopah, expecting a scheduled monthly group meet.

Wow. You must have the longest drive to a meeting! I would love to not
only have regular topics for you, but exciting topics. I see from the site
that we have a commitment for a presentation for next month. Hmm, looks
like the date got moved due to Thanksgiving. As I mentioned above, we
already have topics for January and February.

>  Yah, IMHO organization beats chaos.

Short-term, I'll leave it up to the physicists to determine which will win
long-term :).

ciao,

der.hans
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