Well, that theory hasn't been entirely successful so far. Afaik, SkSp is still running at a net loss - bringing in less money per month than is necessary to pay rent and utilities. Therefore, we do need to consider additional means of generating money.
Yes, getting new, long term members would be more helpful financially than just getting a token fee for the use of the space. But why are you assuming that requesting a donation for the use of the space will keep people from joining? Our landlord does not provide us with space as an act of charity: he charges us rent, and there is no animosity involved on either side. Until SkSp can fully cover rent and utilities, why should we be embarrassed to ask for donations for outside groups to use the space we pay to have? On May 2, 2014 1:59 PM, "Ron Bowes" <[email protected]> wrote: > "If all groups using the space for meetings threw some money in, that'd > help a lot. (I would hope for a higher donation for longer, and more formal > events than for casual get-togethers.)" > > That comes back to the money/people thing Mark was talking about. If we > can get a couple new members each year from each group that uses our space, > that's $1000/group/year. More than we could ever charge. Plus, the activity > is a draw and is useful for everyone! > > > On Fri, May 2, 2014 at 11:55 AM, Roswyne <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I must admit, I was very favorably impressed by the effort you and Sara >> put into the programming workshop. >> >> You were there early every week, and set up not only the tables and >> chairs in the classroom in an appropriate layout, but also set up whole >> computer stations for people who couldn't bring a laptop. And you always >> put everything away, even when I thought it could have been left out for >> the duration of the course (based on another class that was held at SkSp1). >> >> I'm very pleased to hear that a portion of the fees were paid to SkSp as >> a thank-you for using the space. If all groups using the space for meetings >> threw some money in, that'd help a lot. (I would hope for a higher donation >> for longer, and more formal events than for casual get-togethers.) >> >> >> >> >> On May 2, 2014 1:23 PM, "Mark Jenkins" <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> It just takes a bit of time. >>>> >>> >>> This in a nutshell is what sustaining the space will always come down to. >>> >>> If all we ever gave to the space was our money and never our time, there >>> would eventually be a collapse as too many people reached the conclusion of >>> "why should I pay money to access a space full of stuff". >>> >>> Be it explicit volunteer time you could put on a resume or just hanging >>> out and being awesome, you're contributing to the space. There are many, >>> many ways to contribute your time. Hopefully the sell enough gift cards to >>> make the time put in by people set up worthwhile (vs them putting their >>> time elsewhere) >>> >>> The real hard trick we all have to play on each other is the >>> meta-volunteering of getting other people to put in their time. We don't >>> have a staff of volunteer/programming co-ordinators! >>> >>> Sometimes that means explicitly asking people to take their time to do >>> something, sometimes it means creating fun opportunities for other people >>> to make awesomeness without them even knowing they're actually "creating >>> community". >>> >>> I for one am always willing to give talks -- but I need other folks to >>> push me to commit to a topic and date and to do the marketing. >>> (I have noticed that formal programming that receives an executive push >>> is more often well attended.) >>> >>> Somebody please force me to give a long promised talk our about VM >>> server or Ripple in June. Ripple may be particular pertinent at this time, >>> I think its a technology that could offer Skullspace and the Skullspace >>> community some benifits of increased financial efficiency (no get rich >>> pitch) -- I'd love to have the opportunity to explain this to an audience >>> and even do some follow-on software development to support some additional >>> use-cases that would help us if I knew there was interest. >>> >>> >>> If anyone is entertaining the paid workshop idea, I'd suggest the same >>> revenue model Sara Arenson went with -- presenter directly charges their >>> attendees for taking their course/workshop and pays a rent to Skullspace. >>> (I think did $15 a night?). This approach puts positive incentives in both >>> the hands of presenter and the space. >>> >>> Maybe, one day I'll do a paid python boot camp for existing programmers >>> or maybe in the very distant future full LPIC ( >>> https://www.lpi.org/linux-certifications) course. (should get my LPIC-1 >>> first!) >>> >>> >>> Mark >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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/ >> > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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