Has this issue be resolved? Can we make our bank statements available online to members, if they are not already.<br><br>-Rob<br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 7:11 AM, Nathan Kennedy <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ntk@hcoop.net">ntk@hcoop.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">As a reminder to our USA tax-paying members, donations to HCoop are NOT<br>
tax-deductible and are not charitable. This means that if you will itemize<br>
your income tax deductions on your tax return you may not deduct donations<br>
to HCoop. Of course, if you take the standard deduction, this is not<br>
relevant to you. If you do not pay USA income tax, then you are<br>
responsible for following any tax laws applicable to you, keeping in mind<br>
that although HCoop is a tax-exempt nonprofit it is not a charity.<br>
<br>
I would also thank those who have donated, however no one is under any<br>
obligation to do so (including Adam), nor in my opinion is this necessary<br>
to HCoop's continuing operations.<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<font color="#888888">Nathan Kennedy, Secretary<br>
</font><div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c"><br>
On Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:55:58 -0400, Adam Chlipala <<a href="mailto:adamc@hcoop.net">adamc@hcoop.net</a>> wrote:<br>
> Time for the weekly update on the donation drive!<br>
><br>
> There have been no new donations since my last message. At our last<br>
> board meeting, we resolved to sell some of our unused hardware and put<br>
> the proceedings towards this deficit. Even with that, it is not looking<br>
> likely that we will manage to cover even half of the remaining shortfall<br>
> with the amounts of donations we are getting so far. We would probably<br>
> need multiple members pledging at least $100. (I was already planning<br>
> to do that myself.)<br>
><br>
> Adam Chlipala wrote:<br>
>> It's time for your weekly update on the donation drive!<br>
>><br>
>> 3 new donations have come in since my last message a week ago, bringing<br>
>> the stats to:<br>
>><br>
>> Number of members: 12<br>
>> Total amount: $391.60<br>
>> Mean donation: $32.63<br>
>> Minimum: $10<br>
>> Maximum: $97.80<br>
>> Median: $22.50<br>
>> Part of deficit not yet covered: $1428.90<br>
>><br>
>> Adam Chlipala wrote:<br>
>><br>
>>> Here's an update on donation offers from members so far:<br>
>>><br>
>>> Number of members: 9<br>
>>> Total amount: $193.80<br>
>>> Mean donation: $21.53<br>
>>> Minimum: $13.80<br>
>>> Maximum: $50<br>
>>> Median: $20<br>
>>> Part of deficit not yet covered: $1626.70<br>
>>><br>
>>> Adam Chlipala wrote:<br>
>>><br>
>>><br>
>>>> HCoop has been around for a while, and our current financial records<br>
>>>> trail back to before we were even an official legal entity. Somewhere<br>
>>>> along the line between then and now, our records on the HCoop portal<br>
>>>> have gotten out of sync with the balance of our bank account. The<br>
>>>> difference between the two stands at $1820.50 now, when we consider<br>
>>>> negative balances of members who left while still owing money, before<br>
> we<br>
>>>> instituted our current policy of freezing member accounts shortly<br>
> before<br>
>>>> they reach the point where this could happen.<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> It seems prudent to get the two figures in line before proceeding much<br>
>>>> further. We don't really have any methods available to us for finding<br>
>>>> the root reasons for the discrepancy, though, so I'm proposing that we<br>
>>>> find some subset of members who will voluntarily pledge extra amounts<br>
>>>> out of their balances to cover the difference.<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> Please remember that HCoop has never yet had a single paid staff<br>
> member<br>
>>>> performing any service, including managing our financial records.<br>
> I've<br>
>>>> done this particular task without pay since 2002, and I'm kind of<br>
> proud<br>
>>>> that the discrepancy isn't even worse, for 6 years of operation. ;-)<br>
> I<br>
>>>> can't think of any way in which a suspicious member could construe the<br>
>>>> situation as a crafty attempt by me to turn a personal profit, but let<br>
>>>> me know if you have an objection along those lines, and I can try to<br>
>>>> explain why there's nothing to worry about.<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> It's worth stating explicitly that our bookkeeping system has recently<br>
>>>> changed significantly, based on discussion on the hcoop-sysadmin list,<br>
>>>> so there is good reason to expect that, once we get things squared<br>
> away<br>
>>>> now, we'll be in good shape from there on.<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> So, again, I am asking members for donations that will together cover<br>
>>>> the $1820.50. Donations are purely voluntary. People who make<br>
>>>> donations now will receive no preferential treatment or other benefits<br>
>>>> later, and no one is expected to donate. There is no need to worry<br>
>>>> about not getting enough donations to cover the deficit, because I can<br>
>>>> make up the difference from my personal balance. (Though it's kind of<br>
>>>> sad if I end up providing both my time and my money, to make up for<br>
>>>> other members' unwillingness to participate in keeping our finances in<br>
>>>> order over the years.)<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> As I write this message, we have 132 HCoop members. That means that<br>
>>>> $13.80 from each member would cover the deficit. Anyone considering<br>
>>>> donating should assume that nowhere near a majority of members will<br>
>>>> donate, so that the even contribution required to cover everything<br>
> will<br>
>>>> be higher in reality.<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> If you are up for donating, please e-mail me (<a href="mailto:adamc@hcoop.net">adamc@hcoop.net</a>) a short<br>
>>>> note giving your HCoop username and the amount you want to donate, to<br>
> be<br>
>>>> deducted from your HCoop balance. Thanks in advance to everyone who<br>
>>>> does this!<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> Below I've included a copy of a summary of the financial situation<br>
> that<br>
>>>> I sent to the hcoop-sysadmin list on September 6th.<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> BALANCES:<br>
>>>> Wells Fargo: 8067.20<br>
>>>> PayPal: 37.98<br>
>>>> Checkout (payments not yet transferred to our bank account): 38.60<br>
>>>> SUM: 8143.78<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> PORTAL SAYS WE HAVE:<br>
>>>> Co-op balance: 911.06<br>
>>>> Active member balances: 9053.22<br>
>>>> SUM: 9964.28<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE AMOUNTS:<br>
>>>> Deficit: 1820.50<br>
>>>> Negative balances of members who left without paying up: 314.31<br>
>>>> Remaining: 1506.19<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br>