[Chapter-delegates] Chapter financing

[Paul Brooks]

On 17/04/2013 6:12 PM, Jordi Iparraguirre wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> some weeks ago there was a burst of mails about how could ISOC HQ help chapters via
> subsidizing basic admin chores so chapter leaders can focus on mission instead of
> chapter administration.
>
> This is something that may not be crucial to very dynamic chapters or chapters in
> countries where law allows for corporate members, but that is really an issue to the
> ones in the deadlock of not being able to charge fees because they do not have
> enough resources to offer appealing payback to members.

Count me in for any further discussions on this.  Back when we could afford a
part-time staff member, things happened. Now that we are, like many other chapters,
reliant on people with other day-jobs finding precious spare time, or finding
indulgent employers that don't mind some work time being spent on ISOC business and
administration, a lot less happens.
There seems to be threshold for effectiveness - if we can help get sufficient funding
to chapters to get over the staffing threshold, then the effort can become
self-sustaining and growing as the resources start bringing in more membership funding
and grant funding than their salaries are consuming. We have to recognise that our
passionate representatives and backoffice workers can't get by on passion alone, they
also need to eat - or they burn out and leave, which we have seen too much of.

Regards,
    Paul.

-- 
Paul Brooks
Treasurer
Internet Society of Australia
www.isoc-au.org.au