[wellylug] Very Important: Meeting of 13th Feb 2005

Mark Foster blakjak at blakjak.net
Wed Feb 15 16:13:49 NZDT 2006


> Mark Foster wrote on 14/02/2006 10:01 PM:
>
>> Sponsorship of the LUG in general would probably require incorporation,
>> in order to account for finances. (Whoever is doing the sponsoring
>> isprobably going to want it to be legally trackable!)
>
> Incorrect. There is _no_ requirement to become incorporated. There are
> numerous clubs/groups/societies out there receiving sponsorship without
> such status. Becoming an Incorporated Society merely removes the onus of
> liability from the members running the club/group, and places it with
> the Society itself (among many other benefits).
>
> http://www.societies.govt.nz/pls/web/dbssiten.main
>

I didnt say 'legally required'.

My intent in that statement, and i'm sorry if I wasnt clear enough, is
that the kinds of outfits likely to offer sponsorship to a LUG are very
likely going to want to know that their money is going to the
organisation, and not to an individual on behalf of said org.

I am fully aware of the fact this isnt required - Michael you should know
why this is.  However it'd certainly be a 'nice-to-have' for any formal
sponsorship arrangements involving money changing hands.

If the sponsorship simply totals up to the odd donation toward a specific
event where in return theres some sort of brand advertising or similar...
well thats different entirely.  The last Auckland Installfest operated on
just this premise and was able to secure sponsorship from Novell, Hewlett
Packard and the Trade & Exchange to the tune of close to $1500 all up.

So to look at it another way; Incorporation adds a lot of complications as
well as benefits - book keeping, auditing, etc, and a formalised
organisational structure.  There are drawbacks to these.  For a Linux
Users Group to achieve what it sets out to, would not usually require any
of the legal benefits of Incorporation, and therefore I respectfully
suggest that it should not be considered.

I'm quite sure, given the number of 'enthusiastic' members of WellyLUG,
that things can be made to work without taking that step.

Mark.




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