[HCoop-Discuss] Request for voluntary donations

[Nathan Kennedy]

As a reminder to our USA tax-paying members, donations to HCoop are NOT
tax-deductible and are not charitable.  This means that if you will itemize
your income tax deductions on your tax return you may not deduct donations
to HCoop.  Of course, if you take the standard deduction, this is not
relevant to you.  If you do not pay USA income tax, then you are
responsible for following any tax laws applicable to you, keeping in mind
that although HCoop is a tax-exempt nonprofit it is not a charity.

I would also thank those who have donated, however no one is under any
obligation to do so (including Adam), nor in my opinion is this necessary
to HCoop's continuing operations.

Regards,
Nathan Kennedy, Secretary

On Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:55:58 -0400, Adam Chlipala <adamc at hcoop.net> wrote:
> Time for the weekly update on the donation drive!
> 
> There have been no new donations since my last message.  At our last
> board meeting, we resolved to sell some of our unused hardware and put
> the proceedings towards this deficit.  Even with that, it is not looking
> likely that we will manage to cover even half of the remaining shortfall
> with the amounts of donations we are getting so far.  We would probably
> need multiple members pledging at least $100.  (I was already planning
> to do that myself.)
> 
> Adam Chlipala wrote:
>> It's time for your weekly update on the donation drive!
>>
>> 3 new donations have come in since my last message a week ago, bringing
>> the stats to:
>>
>> Number of members: 12
>> Total amount: $391.60
>> Mean donation: $32.63
>> Minimum: $10
>> Maximum: $97.80
>> Median: $22.50
>> Part of deficit not yet covered: $1428.90
>>
>> Adam Chlipala wrote:
>>
>>> Here's an update on donation offers from members so far:
>>>
>>> Number of members: 9
>>> Total amount: $193.80
>>> Mean donation: $21.53
>>> Minimum: $13.80
>>> Maximum: $50
>>> Median: $20
>>> Part of deficit not yet covered: $1626.70
>>>
>>> Adam Chlipala wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> HCoop has been around for a while, and our current financial records
>>>> trail back to before we were even an official legal entity.  Somewhere
>>>> along the line between then and now, our records on the HCoop portal
>>>> have gotten out of sync with the balance of our bank account.  The
>>>> difference between the two stands at $1820.50 now, when we consider
>>>> negative balances of members who left while still owing money, before
> we
>>>> instituted our current policy of freezing member accounts shortly
> before
>>>> they reach the point where this could happen.
>>>>
>>>> It seems prudent to get the two figures in line before proceeding much
>>>> further.  We don't really have any methods available to us for finding
>>>> the root reasons for the discrepancy, though, so I'm proposing that we
>>>> find some subset of members who will voluntarily pledge extra amounts
>>>> out of their balances to cover the difference.
>>>>
>>>> Please remember that HCoop has never yet had a single paid staff
> member
>>>> performing any service, including managing our financial records. 
> I've
>>>> done this particular task without pay since 2002, and I'm kind of
> proud
>>>> that the discrepancy isn't even worse, for 6 years of operation. ;-) 
> I
>>>> can't think of any way in which a suspicious member could construe the
>>>> situation as a crafty attempt by me to turn a personal profit, but let
>>>> me know if you have an objection along those lines, and I can try to
>>>> explain why there's nothing to worry about.
>>>>
>>>> It's worth stating explicitly that our bookkeeping system has recently
>>>> changed significantly, based on discussion on the hcoop-sysadmin list,
>>>> so there is good reason to expect that, once we get things squared
> away
>>>> now, we'll be in good shape from there on.
>>>>
>>>> So, again, I am asking members for donations that will together cover
>>>> the $1820.50.  Donations are purely voluntary.  People who make
>>>> donations now will receive no preferential treatment or other benefits
>>>> later, and no one is expected to donate.  There is no need to worry
>>>> about not getting enough donations to cover the deficit, because I can
>>>> make up the difference from my personal balance.  (Though it's kind of
>>>> sad if I end up providing both my time and my money, to make up for
>>>> other members' unwillingness to participate in keeping our finances in
>>>> order over the years.)
>>>>
>>>> As I write this message, we have 132 HCoop members.  That means that
>>>> $13.80 from each member would cover the deficit.  Anyone considering
>>>> donating should assume that nowhere near a majority of members will
>>>> donate, so that the even contribution required to cover everything
> will
>>>> be higher in reality.
>>>>
>>>> If you are up for donating, please e-mail me (adamc at hcoop.net) a short
>>>> note giving your HCoop username and the amount you want to donate, to
> be
>>>> deducted from your HCoop balance.  Thanks in advance to everyone who
>>>> does this!
>>>>
>>>> Below I've included a copy of a summary of the financial situation
> that
>>>> I sent to the hcoop-sysadmin list on September 6th.
>>>>
>>>> BALANCES:
>>>> Wells Fargo: 8067.20
>>>> PayPal: 37.98
>>>> Checkout (payments not yet transferred to our bank account): 38.60
>>>> SUM: 8143.78
>>>>
>>>> PORTAL SAYS WE HAVE:
>>>> Co-op balance: 911.06
>>>> Active member balances: 9053.22
>>>> SUM: 9964.28
>>>>
>>>> DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE AMOUNTS:
>>>> Deficit: 1820.50
>>>> Negative balances of members who left without paying up: 314.31
>>>> Remaining: 1506.19