Finances

Revenue Ideas

• Donations/Pledges from membership, community, and local companies
• Membership Dues
• Donations towards certain tools or services (let people who want them donate towards them and make this public so they can see how close they are)

run this is a for profit operation! Just because its a non profit doesn't mean it shouldn't self sustain, and more!

• Lifetime Membership?--issues, cannibalize your first set of users who would be paying monthly!
• start smaller? Seems presumptuous to think you're ready to get 30 people to pay 50 dollars, and you're undercounting utilities hugely and not dealing with tools/furniture/setup costs. I pay 200 in AC in my 2 bd., 300 for all utilities is insane
• loans?
• Sell Food, have an actual cafe, coffee shop--simultaneously have someone watch the space and make some money too--make it public too!
• Craft Shop (local or etsy)
• Sponsorship - Universities, Large Companies(Intel), etc.
• Grants(1337 grant from UAT)
• Shared Purchase Plan - Reimbursement Program – Buy a tool and get it payed back
• Private Investors
• Merchandise Income - T-Shirts, Hats, Posters, Stickers, Crafts, Electronics Kits, etc.
• Advertising Revenue from Website

Accounting Software

Open Source

• gnucash - http://www.gnucash.org/ - Linux or Windows
• TurboCash - http://www.turbocash.net/ - Windows only, may work with WINE

HeatBucks

I need to know how… anti capitalism people in the group are thus far. Is this a bunch of people trying to escape capitalism? Or are we creating a self sustaining FOR PROFIT business, that simply plows its profit back into the business.

Im interested in this idea of 'heatbucks', or Whuffie, community currency--think of it as Ebay feedback number or a slashdot points.

These could be traded amongst members for things or time. You could hand some out with each monthly membership fee(la second life or other mmorpgs).. and some larger amount might even be used for paying FOR your membership fee. You could also sell extra bucks to people who have money but not time.

I'm cribbing a bit from Cory Doctorow here if you want to search him out and read more on these ideas, but children and the poor are time rich and money poor. Professionals and adults tend to be time poor and money rich. The time poor people will spend what the market will bear to get something done, while time rich people will do whatever it takes to get it for free. You will never convert these people, they will eventually convert themselves by changing their standard of living. This is why file sharing will never be stamped out. I think it would be interesting to have an economy system where people who have time but not money could train, present, and donate their way into membership rather than pay. Some people will never have 50 dollars, but will have 20 hours…

Theres an argument against this to think about. There is an idea out there that even valuing something at all, removes the value from the transaction. I believe either Chris Anderson of Wired, Long Tail, and FREE or Clay Shirkey has presented this. The idea is if you paid people who edited wikipedia articles even a cent a transaction you would ruin the system because when you value people (especially that low) you make it a paid gig and not something people are donating and feeling good about. Im interested in the communities thoughts on this.

Thoughts?