On Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:30:20 +0000 David Greaves <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 08/03/12 05:27, robert bauer wrote: > > > > > > On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 5:04 PM, David Greaves <[email protected] > > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > > > Recently we've been looking at what we can do to setup some > > kind of "non profit" structure around Mer. > > > > I reported to the Mer Advisory Board on this last friday. > > > > In the UK there are numerous options : charities, trusts, > > companies etc The most appropriate initial setup (minimising > > regulatory concerns) is an Unincorporated Association. This is not > > a discrete legal entity and cannot enter into contracts. > > > > It has no external constraints (such as regulatory, audits or > > an accountant), can setup bank accounts and can transform later > > into a Charitable Trust or the new Charitable Incorporated > > Organisation (CIO) or other legal entity. > > > > I can't comment on UK options (I've only looked at US), and my > > comments can be disregarded anyway given my minimal contact with > > Mer, but it seems a bit risky to have money run through an account > > with no legality. Have you thought about utilizing the services > > offered by SPI or something similar? If so, what are the issues > > that led you away from such an option? > > Hmm, a Serial Peripheral Interface.... not sure how that helps? Ah ... > http://www.spi-inc.org/ ... I guess you can tell we're more into the > technical side than the organisational/legal :) > > No, I hadn't heard of them - OK, yes, an organisation like that may > be very useful. I'll add it to the investigation list, thanks - > that's exactly the sort of suggestion we need. Also, if anyone knows > of a UK or european based equivalent then please yell. > > Actually one thing that was mentioned in my report to the AB and I > missed on this summary is that this "Unincorporated Association" is > intended to be a first step and we had intended to establish a trust > of some sort which will have legal trustees. > > 12:07:29 in > http://mer.bfst.de/meetings/mer-meeting/2012/mer-meeting.2012-03-02-12.00.log.html > > What risks did you have in mind? Is it primarily trust (which is a > completely valid concern and I don't mind discussing/mitigating) or > are there other risks which I may have missed? > > On the other side of the risk coin, I am aware that I would be > personally liable for any contracts I enter into on behalf of the Mer > project - at this point that exposure seems fairly low and I plan to > manage hosting contracts within a budget (ie something like I won't > get another server unless we have 12 months ongoing funding either > cleared or promised). > > Thoughts? > > David > David, Check Paypool.com It is set up for collecting money for specific causes and show accountability to all partakers. Jean Hofsté
