On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 9:19 AM, Marc Farnum Rendino <[email protected]> wrote: > On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 8:59 AM, The Anti-Joey <[email protected]> wrote: >> i have contributed to grant writing efforts in the past and would be willing >> to contribute to an effort of this magnitude. it can take a significant >> period of time for the approval process, depending on cause, circumstance, >> etal. >> >> i'd love to see such a project in chittenden county somewhere (since i >> reside in b'ton). there is so much yet to learn! > > Indeed! :) > > OK; let's take advantage of this momentum and organize a bit: > > - We need to better define what it is we want to do; already we have > some different ideas. > > - We need a focal point; a person or group to channel this energy. > > Funding, finding a space, etc. will take some time so we need to begin > ASAP - however I think we need to organize a bit first, before we > fragment off in too many directions. >
Count me in on the organizational team. I figure if we have 4 or 5 people, we should be able to do the preliminary ground work in short order (feel free to use your own definition of short order). This includes: - Determining the interest/need in such a space in the Montpelier/Burlington area - Determining the availability and cost of a space to house the project - Determining the possible sources of funding (grants, dues, fund raising, support for schools/colleges, an angel(!!)) - Coming up with a list of projects from interested members that will serve as a starting point. As multiple people have said, it would be kinda silly to get this whole thing started but not have a few projects to work on :) - Visiting some other nearby hacker spaces. Montreal, NYC, and Boston come to mind. - Coming up with a list of educational/community/outreach opportunities I think a lot of the groundwork will be in common between a Burlington and Montpelier site. If there are to be two sites, we don't necessarily need to do twice the work. That being said, it would make things easier (re: finding a location and possibly securing funding) if we were to focus on one. Then again, if we ended up with two sites both under the same umbrella, funding could be shared. Which returns me to the point that this is something that needs to be looked into in depth :) Kevin
