[Noisebridge-discuss] Noisebridge: Death and Taxes

[Andy Isaacson]

On Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 04:44:12PM -0800, aditya bhargava wrote:
> Naive question: What will it take for us to be in the green again?

We'd like to have three months operating expenses in the bank at all
times.  It costs $5,000 per month to operate Noisebridge, so we'd like
to have $15,000 in the bank and a steady flow of $5,000 income every
month.

> I understand the $165 a day bit, but what can be done towards
> achieving that?

We can reach out to people who would like to give us money and make it
easier for them.

Our Associate Member program is a great start!  People can sign up for
$10, $20, $40, $80, or more per month, without having to go through the
time-consuming process of becoming a voting member.

> And what caused the drop in cash flow?

First, we have had fewer lump sum donations in the last 6 months than
before.  It used to be common for us to get $1,000 or $3,000 donations
about every other month (mostly from Googlers, interestingly), back when
Noisebridge was just getting off the ground.  There are still a few of
these, but subjectively they're less common lately.

Second, many members have failed to pay their dues regularly.  Three
reasons:

1. Paypal randomly cancels recurring payments without notification.
2. We haven't had a regular reminder email system for members who miss a
   month.  (We had one back when Mitch was treasurer, but not much since
   then.)
3. Normal attrition as people get other interests, move, lose a job, or
   whatever other reason to stop being a member.
4. It's easy to not worry about it when you're not being reminded that
   it's important.

-andy (bonus extra reason)