On Tue, 2009-03-31 at 08:35 -0400, Marc Farnum Rendino wrote: > Folks - > > Sounds great! Some additional ideas to throw into the mix: > > 1) It may well make sense to have multiple sites; perhaps start with > *both* Burlington and Montpelier. > > And with multiple sites, there is the added benefit of distance/remote > projects, driven by both need and availability. Need: Some group > functions would/could of course require participation of both sites. > Availability: Projects that some of us may want to work on, need > multiple sites. Drive it from both directions. > > 2) As far as money is concerned: There is a great deal of grant money > available for example: > > <http://www.cra.org/ccc/docs/init/Unleashing.pdf> > > And we have our own VT EPSCoR <http://www.uvm.edu/EPSCoR/> > > With more grant opportunities coming, via ARRA/stimulus > <http://www.recovery.gov/>. > > I've started to dip my toe into grant-writing; do we have any other > grant-writers? > > The idea being that the grant gets the project running, with some time > to ramp up longer-term funding, such as sponsorship, dues (ex: sliding > scale, to encourage everyone), etc. > > - Marc
I didn't mention this before, and I don't know much about how other spaces tackle this, but that won't prevent me from offering my .02. A space should be neutral. The organization itself should have no bias or prejudice towards projects, suppliers or members. Accepting corporate sponsorship, or sponsorship can and will change the neutrality of the lab, which will ultimately deter new members from joining. Not that donations shouldn't be accepted, but general sponsorship should be avoided. The other thing, which is much more obvious to the giver of funds and sponsorship. HackerSpace. Sure, to most geeks we know and understand the definition or hacker, however the rest of the world, specifically most people, have images of doom and crime associated with the work "hacker". At Foulab multiple opportunities have presented themselves to us for publicity, but we decided to avoid the public eye, mainly for that reason. I know it seems harmless, and it's only a word, and I agree totally, but the word "Hacker" will be a stop bit for most, especially in the public sphere. The last thing any space needs is bad publicity, and having the word "hacker" in your name or description will bring plenty attention in itself. The other nasty thing that comes along with sponsorship is control from an outside party to some degree. The space needs to remain free from outside influence and control to work smoothly and foster ideas and projects. Also, what if a sponsor (Joes Widgets) says, "We like what we see here, we'd like to donate over 9000 widgets for you guys to use in your projects, just display our logo on your website and on the project that uses the widgets we gave to you..." So everybody sets off making something with the widgets. Let's say that Joe comes back a few months later, and finds that the lab has used his widgets in a project that Joe doesn't like or approve of, and he no longer wishes to continue supporting the lab. Not only that, the widget's use enrages Joe and he calls his junkyard lawyer on us. Bad juju for all, which can easily be avoided by being very careful about outside donations and such. And government money. I wouldn't accept funding from any government organization for several reasons, number one being that the money isn't free. Sure it's free, and they give it to you, but it will carry a large amount of restrictions on it's use which will stifle and limit the lab, and possibly the space in general. Also, many hacker types are anti-authoritarian and anti-government. One more thing about money and donations from outside donation. Some projects will be illegal from the start. It's just the nature of the lab. To think that everybody's project and ideas are going to be above board is naive. Remember, the lab will attract the types of people (hackers) that are used to breaking and bending rules, and generally have a distaste for authoritarian types.... Finally, someone is going to have to chase those sponsors and such. With a lab full of geeks, do you really want to be talking to white-collars? or in the lab hacking on something. I'd choose the latter...... It seems like I bring a lot of rain to this party, sorry for that, but if the space opens and then closes a few months later, it did nobody any good and the hard work of it's members is wasted. Better to take 6 months if need be, build interest, build funds (donations, membership, etc) and then have a space that is sustainable and remains in operation. Thanks for reading my dribble.... ~k
