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Hello!
I believe there are some group issues to attend to before ldraw.org
starts selling CDs. I got to talk to a lot of people this weekend and
received valuable input towards the direction of this now nebulous
group and what needs to take place in the future.
First off, I believe 'we' need to pursue becoming a legal non-profit
entity because of the CD sales and US tax law issues. Though in
theory we could 'get away with it,' its nowhere near worth risking the
possible repercussions if by chance the IRS looks into our CD-ROM
dealings. As a non-profit organization we would be tax-exempt, and I
believe get a number of benefits such as discounted postage. If
anyone has advice on this issue please reply. I'm working as hard as
I can on the CD and on Kidvention planning, so the time that I have to
research things is limited.
When we do organize into an official entity, we will need some sort of
administrative structure, including someone to 'lead' the
organization, a treasurer to manage funds, and possibly
representatives if we want to do stuff at Legofests or work with LUGs
throughout the country.
First, lets have a few ideas to establish who 'we' are. ldraw.org as
it stands right now has the following people behind it with projects
and promotions and administration, as I see it:
Myself - coordinating website and organizing future promos/events
Jacob Sparre Andersen - server administration, techincal advisor
Terry Keller - working with myself on promos, technical advisor
Steve Bliss - parts updates, technical advisor
There are many others who work with the LDraw software and who I've
gone to for ideas and suggestions.
The question is, if/when we are to form an official organization, how
will these roles be officially represented and divided up? Who else
will 'join the team' and take positions in this organization? Ideas
and suggestions are welcome, and requested.
We also will be needing a treasurer to manage the funds we'll be
collecting via donations and CD sales. I had a talk with Bram this
weekend and he said his mom did some amazing things with a music club
as treasurer. Unfortunately, we can't get his mom to help us :\ It
would be strictly volunteer work for a while, but perhaps along the
way there could be some compensation depending on donation volume and
success with CDs, but nothing of extreme significance. If anyone has
good accounting skills and a knowledge of legal mumbo-jumbo who would
be willing to manage funds, let me know!
Here are the expenses that we will incur in the near future and also
how I would like to see them paid for:
$1500-2000 on CD-ROM printing - CDs sell for '$10 US Minimum
Donation,' but we'll need up front money for that. I'll update when
we have an exact figure and we'll work that out. See
http://www.lugnet.com/cad/?n=3914
for details on CD donations.
$229 for a vinyl table skirt sign - I met Chris Layton from
BrickDirect this weekend, and he had a sign like this. I had been
planning on having signage made for the event before, and had been
looking into a company for it. He told me his brother gave him that
sign, and so I got his brother's contact info and called his company
for a quote. This sign can be used for future events where I or any
ldraw.org representative is present. It will be easy to ship in a
mailing tube and last for years to come. I am willing to donate $50
towards it, and I have a donation of $40-80 as well on this.
The rest of the signage I can have printed on a couple Lugnuts'
printers and laminated and/or mounted myself. This will drastically
cut expenses.
Terry Keller will be incurring miscellaneous expenses as he builds (as
cheaply as possible) a nice looking background display for the
Kidvention. Terry, if you would like to ask for donations on your
expenses, feel free. We can most likely reimburse you from CD
donations and sales.
Those are the immediate expenses pertaining to Kidvention and CD
production. As we seek to plan .datFest there will be more.
Regarding .datFest, the thing hindering us right now is funds. If
there is a way to get funds for the project (I've been looking into
grants, but would rather not go through that process) I believe the
money can be made up for with registration to at least break even in
the end. If you have access to funds and would like to help make
datFest possible, please email me about details and we'll work
something out to assure you get your donation back after the event.
This will help us try to get a date set in the next 3 weeks, so we can
advertise at the Kidvention.
I would like to offer to anyone who donates $10 US or more a copy of
the CD-ROM when its produced. I'll take down the names of all who
donate and be sure to send them CDs when I get them in. If you would
like to donate, please email me or send a check to:
Tim Courtney
702 Cadillac Drive
Wheaton, IL 60187-3618
Please specify what you would like to donate towards. I encourage
donations if you like what we're doing this summer promoting this
wonderful program and file format to the Lego enthusiasts in the
general public. I hope that this event can gather many more to the
online community and be a benefit to everyone. Also, please send your
comments and suggestions my way so we can make things better!
-Tim Courtney
ldraw.org Project Coordinator
http://www.ldraw.org
http://www.zacktron.com
AIM: timcourtne
ICQ: 23951114
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