[Noisebridge-discuss] The Mystery of the Disappearing Donations

[Rikke Rasmussen]

Frantisek,

It's not a matter of people not donating - on the contrary, we've been doing
fine just with the weekly kombucha and a little food here and there - it's a
matter of us having very deliberately *not* having locked away or removed
any funds, exactly because no one wants to have to make any decisions that
detract from the openness of our community, and someone then having taken
advantage of that openness.

Don't see the principal difference between a treasurer removing the money
and a locked box in the fridge that anyone can get keys and access to? It
wouldn't be the only donation box in the space with a lock on it, either.

Stocks have been managed better than you might expect - we're still running
on the last of what you bought just before you left. I thank you for the
advice, but while I appreciate that Tastebridge was your full-time
occupation, none of us currently have that option, and I can't help but feel
a little hurt by the implication that it can't function any other way. I
think we've been doing really well, all things considered.


/Rikke



On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 8:33 AM, Frantisek Apfelbeck <algoldor at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Hi Rikke,
> I understand your frustration but I really strongly feel that locked
> donation box solution is not a good solution, the project would be harmed
> considerably. There is a very strong part of Noisebridge which is against
> locking anything within the community. In this case I think that distance
> doesn't matter, another solution should be applied.
>
> I do not know strategies what are the current Tastebridge strategies to
> accumulate resources and I've not seen any numbers being published recently
> of how do we do but based on previous experience:
> - the Tuesday member dinner worked fine and donations were collected and
> counted directly so no problem there, just leave few dollars in the box
> ($1-10)
> - the underground markets are hard to prepare for but it is an amazing way
> how to get resources too and again fully controlled with no strings attached
> - other option which helped before is send an email to the community to ask
> for resources for the brewing program to continue (I can do that)
> - of course taking out money on regular bases should work fine if some one
> is around to do so. I bet someone trusty even not affiliated to Tastebridge
> would do it. Again leaving $1-10 in the donation box and having the donation
> box on as much stable position worked fine for months.
>
> I'm sending this to you in person so you can think about that. If you go
> this way you will loose more than you gain and I'll have to comment on this
> because this was, is and will be one of the fundamental principles behind
> Tastebridge - open as much as possible. People who supported Tastebridge in
> the past are mostly strongly against the locking solutions. I know that very
> well and yes I'm one of them too and there are very strong reasons for that.
>
> So please try to take care about that in a different manner I do not have a
> problem to write to some folks to try to get some resources. Once the
> ingredients are bought they last quite a while if managed well. I think the
> major problem is the money management, someone has to be "treasurer" for
> Tastebridge and really take care about it. I'm using Tastebridge as a
> concept where ever I go and it works but it is not easy sometimes but I
> deeply feel it is worth it.
>
> If it happens that Tastebridge in Noisebridge will become inactive that is
> life. I'll and many others will be sorry but I'll continue to promote the
> idea somewhere else and I'll revive it once in San Francisco again it will
> take just a little bit longer than if it was kept running.
>
> Best of luck and enjoy the "painful thorns" of the beauty of the open
> movement :-))
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Frantisek
>
> PS I'm going to post very short note asking you to reconsider, if you want
> post this email that is absolutely fine do so preferably to both lists.
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Rikke Rasmussen <rikke.c.rasmussen at gmail.com>
> *To:* Tastebridge <tastebridge at lists.noisebridge.net>;
> noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net; biobridge at lists.noisebridge.net
> *Sent:* Thu, April 21, 2011 9:01:46 AM
> *Subject:* [Noisebridge-discuss] The Mystery of the Disappearing Donations
>
> Hey people,
>
> Amanda and I have bottled yet another batch of kombucha for y'all to enjoy
> - they're currently sitting on the Tastebridge shelf, awaiting refrigeration
> tomorrow.
>
> Am much dismayed to note, however, that the Tastebridge donation jar (the
> small screw top one we keep our funds in) currently contains only $9.00 (6
> of which were put in tonight, and down from ~$35.00 on Monday night) -
> nowhere near enough to replenish our almost depleted stock of tea and sugar
> (base ingredients). This basically means that we've got barely enough for
> another batch, and won't be able to make any more unless money magically
> reappears. I'll immediately take the (painful!) step of putting a locked box
> in the fridge for kombucha donations - anyone who feels they should have a
> key can ask me for one.
>
> Sorry folks, but this really sucks. Please help me make sure this doesn't
> happen again.
>
> /Rikke
>
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