SR - newsletters and regional funds

[Dennis and Dory Grace]

I said:
>> I'm going to vent for *just* a second here, at no one in particular.

you said:
>Just FYI, *I* didn't shoot down the tea and even volunteered to help with
>the FAQ. I even mentioned that I was interested in doing layout for a
>newsletter. 
I know you've offered to help, that's why I *did* say I that was venting at
"no one in particular. I just happened to feel like venting a little in the
middle of responding to some of your points; I didn't mean for it to sound
like it was aimed at you.

>These were all things *individuals* were doing. These did not
>require the groups to support them monitarily.

So when should that stop someone from volunteering?  Everything we do
requires monetary support at one point or another. You were local
chronicler at one time; did the newsletter always support itself? I know
that newsletters (whether local, regional, or kingdom level) sometimes
require support from group funds to get past tight spots. I've never heard
of anyone having any problem with that, so I don't see why anyone would
have any problem with this. It *would* benefit the region, afterall.

>I was just giving a baseline to work from.

Thanks. I was just roughing an estimate myself.

>I know there are individuals interested, but as soon as you start
>bringing in money from a group that is then making decisions for the
>group that may not be appropriate at this time.

People can vote on stuff, like we did in our recent business meeting. I
really don't think everyone would go off the deep end if we asked each
group to take a look at how many paid members it has (strictly as a rough
guideline--unless someone else has a better idea), and brought it up at a
business meeting as to whether people are interested in donating some money
to launching the newsletter. I really don't see anything wrong with asking.
Information about regional events will go a long ways towards drumming up
support for the events, which are, after all, held by these groups, and the
more successful the events are, the better for the groups hosting the
events, therefore better in turn for the region. So it's really not an
unreasonable proposal.

>Is *planning* for a profit requiring a donation?
>
>"Oh our break-even for 200 people is $5 each, so we'll set the cost at
> $7 so we can cover the regional newsletter."
>
>Real grey area in my opinion.

I'm not sure I follow you here. Are you talking about a group figuring
their break-even and cost for an *event* to cover the costs of a
newsletter? Or are you talking about a $7 subcription to cover the cost of
a newsletter that costs $5 to produce and mail?

>For a group, I think they should make enough to cover all the items that
>you mentioned. As you saw last night, our first Regional event is not
>*planning* on making money. 

They did that because the budget for the first regional event hasn't been
completed yet.

>Or own Yule Revel is not *planning* on making money.

That's ok. I see nothing wrong with exceptions like that--I see the
occassional "planned break-even" event as a kind of bonus present to the
people, and Yule would seem an appropriate occassion for that. My comment
is based on overall economics considerations for planning *most* events.
That's how we can afford to do events like Yule Revel and not worry about
trying to plan for a profit. 

>I see Regional events as those that benefit the Region as a population,
not the Region as a non-official corporate entity.

Sure. But having a newsletter benefits the region. Building up funds that
can be used for regional stuff also benefits the region. All this is really
not the big bugbear that some folk might tend to think it is. Regions and
principalities have been building and doing this kind of stuff for over 3
decades now. There's no reason for any of us to get all woolly over the
money thing. 

>Remember that Regions are not recognized groups. They are completely
>arbitrary boundries setup by approximate population counts. They can not
>have their own bank account and can't own property.

As has been mentioned earlier, funds can at the very least be held in the
Kingdom's bank account as earmarked for a region's use. There would not be
a stipulation like this unless there were precedence for it. .

>I don't think a
>region should plan on owning property or making any significant money
>until they are an officially recognized group. 

Where do you think all those newborn principalities get their start-up
funds? These aren't new concepts we're talking about here; they may be new
ideas to some people but groups in the SCA have been working with these
ideas for years now. All we really need to do is familiarize ourselves with
them and maybe even improve on them

>I don't think a group
>within the Region should hold it for them because of possible political
>and/or economic issues. (ie. It got destroyed while in Bryn Gwlad's shed.
>Who is responsible for repair or replacement?)

That's a good set of concerns. Like I said, I've been told that regional
funds can be held earmarked in the Kingdom coffers; I don't know if an
individual group can hold regional funds as earmarked or not. As far as
responsibility for the money, I don't *think* we'd keep it in a shed (sorry
;->). As to physical stuff, I don't see where there would be anything to be
stored outside of the miscellaneous odds and ends that go with the regional
offices that already exist (files, paperclips, etc.). If we become a
Principality, the regalia would be kept by whomever was holding the
coronets (or their chatelaine or whatever). What kind of stuff did you have
in mind?

Aquilanne


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