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
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