Nonprofit

This page is way out of date, it is just here for historical purposes at this point.

Establishing business entity

Bloominglabs LLC was established in July 2010 to operate the space.

Bloominglabs LLC operated from July 2010 until December 2012 when the LLC was closed down. Bloominglabs Incorporated (non-profit) was opened in December of 2012 and is how the space operates to the present day.

Sample declaration of how money is handled by the organization

It's probably a good idea to get an early jump on this and make things as transparent as possible before any money is formally collected in the name of the hackerspace. To foster discussion on policy formation I've started an outline, this is not meant to be carved in stone. I've started with some questions and then followed up with a rough policy that tries to address them. This could also become a part of our bylaws as we form them.

Money Questions:

• Q1) What happens if workshop fees overshoot membership dues? What happens to our business model if that becomes a significant amount of money?
• Q2) Will there be any reimbursement to members that host workshops, beyond materials costs paid out of pocket?
• Q3) What happens to any additional income collected beyond materials costs?
• Q4) If workshop fees become a large source of income, can we investigate lowering membership costs, or move to a yearly fee instead?

Goals:

• To acquire and maintain 3 months of rent+expenses for the space
• To support workshop supplies so members no longer have to fund this out of pocket
• To Support further workshops and expansion of activities

Sample Money Policy:

All membership dues and workshop fees shall go into a General Fund for the hackerspace. The General Fund has three primary purposes, in this order:

• 1) cover rent and monthly expenses for the space
• 2) repay material costs paid out of pocket by members for workshops
• 3) Acquire equipment and materials for use by members

Collections:

• Members pay monthly dues of $n
• Workshops with fees are paid to the general fund

Payouts:

• Money is paid out of the general fund for rent and utilities (gas, electric, internet)
• Money is paid out as reimbursement for materials paid for out-of-pocket for workshops
• Further payouts require board review based on a graduated scale of cost (under a certain amount only requires the Treasurer to agree, above requires membership vote or similar majority agreement)

Further Reading

Filing Process

• Initial Filings for Indiana Nonprofit Organizations
• Filing in Indiana
• Indiana filing forms
• State Form 4162 - Articles of incorporation for a nonprofit corporation
• IRS Pub 557 - Tax-exempt status for your organization

Maintaining the Organization

• Book keeping for a non-profit
• Basic guide to non-profit financial management
• Establishing a Board

teh Biz

So we really should have a formal business entity to fold all this under. This is a page to help us organize all this. This should all be done with the interest of minimizing time spent doing paperwork/business activities and maximizing our ability to get real stuff accomplished (which is the ultimate goal of this entire endeavor after-all).

Mission Statement

One-liner that says we intend to not be evil.

Organization

The board.

ByLaws

Most of the other non-profit hacker spaces have their bylaws posted online, here are a few samplings to steal from use as reference:

• HackDC's Bylaws
• PumpingStationOne's Bylaws
• More Information at hackerspaces.org