I can see your point in regards to running a frugal group. But to be honest with you, I'm not sure that you are seeing reality in respect to the cost of running a user group.
I don't think a nominal annual dues has anything to do with the decline in membership. Our experience has indicated that it's the ever-increasingly busy lifestyles and the abundance of resources available on the internet. Our seniors today are involved in a lot more things than working folks were just 10 years ago. And, we've never turned away anyone at a meeting, non-members just don't get access to the "perks."
I might be part of that Southern California reality-impaired population, but hand-in-hand with being a non-profit corporation is exercising good business judgement. And not exercising that judgement puts the group and its leadership at risk.
Even if you were meeting in the leader's home, and using all donated materials, I would think you would want some sort of protection of a corporation, and insurance at a minimum. I don't think I would want to put my home or assets at risk.
Now, if there is no money, no venue, no guests, no equipment ... it's not necessary to protect the group or the leadership by forming a non-profit corp and thereby a moot point! All it takes is one lawsuit to clean out the most well-meaning volunteer.
-- Susie Herrera Mac User for Life email@hidden \\\\=^..^=///// On Feb 23, 2009, at 8:41 AM, Brian Coleman wrote: This has certainly been an interesting thread, and I'm starting to see why there is such a decline in user groups and why they don't get new members
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