Re: Re(2): AUGD: Free Ride for Board Members?
Re: Re(2): AUGD: Free Ride for Board Members?
- Subject: Re: Re(2): AUGD: Free Ride for Board Members?
- From: Nicholas Pyers <email@hidden>
- Date: Sun, 2 May 2010 19:19:39 +1000
On 01/05/2010, at 2:25 AM, Chuck Joiner wrote:
Going to whack the beehive here, just for the fun of it.
ummmm... I think that you've under-estimated the effect here...
The idea has the potential to disturb not only the bees, but also the
hornets nest and the ant hill :)
What are your thoughts about a user group being run on a for-profit
model?
One thing many people (and I'm not just referring to User Groups here,
but even in the NGO arena) often forget about 'non-profit' groups is
that MAKING A PROFIT IS ALLOWED... it's the distribution of that
profit back to the 'stakeholders' aka members in the form of dividends
that isn't allowed. In fact to survive and in order to be able to
provide the 'services' the NFP group provides, you normally need to
make some sort of income... be that by selling actual goods/services,
obtaining grants, or even through services in kind
Also having salaried staff is usually allowed under most countries NFP
laws... but usually the Board itself is NOT paid in NFP environments.
The board in these situations provide the direction of the group, but
then others do a lot of the grunt work (for want of a far better phrase)
But the board members can bring other benefits to the group like the
provision of services - web hosting, meeting location, technical
expertise etc
That would make the leadership responsible for delivering whatever
they
represent they would deliver, but also is an incentive to do so.
Boards should do this already... but unfortunately many have become
complacent.
No, it isn't what we have known as the traditional model, but with a
common cry of "we can't get volunteers" going up everywhere, it is
time
to contemplate new things. No question of free rides, who is and isn't
responsible for what, etc.
User Groups must evolve with the times... Many had to in the '80's as
Apple change direction from the Apple // series to the Mac... then in
the late 1990's as the internet came into common use... we were able
to ride the wave of Apple's resurgence in the last decade... now that
we are in 2010 and are well and truly in the 21st century, we need to
evolve yet again.
Not every group is going to want no need a Paid Board, or even paid
staff... but for some groups it may solve a lot of the problems they
currently face.
And before you dismiss it out of hand, consider that several of the
Final Cut Pro groups are doing this successfully.
I see that one of the FCP group leaders has provided a detailed
response on how this works for them and why they went down that path.
I can see how it could work for other groups too... and why some
groups will choose not to, and yet still evolve and provide the
services they want to their members.
Comments?
It is truly turning into an interesting discussion indeed... and
everyone should be able to take something away from it all that they
can use in their own group
--
Nicholas Pyers (email@hidden)
Founder & Publisher, AppleUsers.org
http://www.appleusers.org/
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