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Grex > Coop13 > #380: Cyberspace Communications finances for November 2006 | |
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| Author |
Message |
aruba
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Cyberspace Communications finances for November 2006
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Dec 2 03:04 UTC 2006 |
Here is the treasurer's report on Cyberspace Communications, Inc. finances
through November 30th, 2006.
Beginning Balance $6,022.39
Credits $150.00 Member contributions
$1.18 Interest on our savings account
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$151.18
Debits $100.00 Provide Net colocation (thru 12/22/06)
$48.98 Phone Bill
$29.90 Renewal of grex.org and cyberspace.org
$3.63 Paypal fees (income = $90)
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$182.51
Ending Balance $5,991.06
Our current balance breaks down as follows:
$5,814.69 General Fund
$176.37 Silly Hat Fund
The money is distributed like this:
$4,076.75 Checking account
$1,914.31 Savings account earning 0.75% interest annually
We had one new member (easlern) in November. We are currently at 58
members, 47 of whom are paid through at least December 15th. (The others
expired recently and are in a grace period.)
Notes:
- We renewed both domain names through the beginning of 2008.
Thanks to everyone who contributed in November:
arabella, easlern, keesan, and witling.
If you or your institution would like to become a member of Grex, it
only costs $6/month or $60/year. Send money to:
Cyberspace Communications
P. O. Box 4432
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-4432
If you pay by cash or money order, please include a photocopy of some
form of ID. We can't add you to the rolls without ID. (If you pay
with a personal check that has your name pre-printed on it, we
consider that a good enough ID.) Type !support or see
http://www.cyberspace.org/member.html for more info.
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| 124 responses total. |
jep
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response 1 of 124:
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Dec 6 00:47 UTC 2006 |
At $182.51 per month, Grex has over 32 months of expenses secured. I
suppose there are other expenses as well and so that may not be exact
but it seems to me if Grex stopped taking in money entirely, I think it
would still be securely financed at the current level for at least 2 years.
In the event of a major expense, such as a new computer, Grex users will
no doubt step forward, as they have in the past, to contribute the
needed money. That means there's no need for Grex to have a pile of
money like it does.
Grex has the funds to expand into new services or areas, increase it's
level of service, or to reduce it's required membership contributions.
How about exploring some ways to use some of Grex's money?
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mcnally
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response 2 of 124:
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Dec 6 00:52 UTC 2006 |
Or perhaps Grex could lower its membership dues and consider tailoring
a special membership program to users in developing countries who
probably cannot afford $60/year but who might take a more active role
on Grex if they were more engaged..
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keesan
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response 3 of 124:
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Dec 6 02:13 UTC 2006 |
The grex membership is steadily shrinking and I think we should hold onto the
reserve cash.
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slynne
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response 4 of 124:
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Dec 6 03:54 UTC 2006 |
I think that considering a membership scheme that makes it easier for
people in other countries to become members doesnt necessarily have to
cost us a lot of money.
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jep
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response 5 of 124:
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Dec 6 16:28 UTC 2006 |
I don't have much interest in sending in more membership money at
present. Grex doesn't need the money. We're not using it for anything
and not planning on using it for anything. If $60 has got to sit in a
bank account, it might as well be my bank account.
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keesan
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response 6 of 124:
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Dec 6 18:03 UTC 2006 |
We are using the money to pay monthly expenses, including an internet
connection that lets you access grex.
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cross
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response 7 of 124:
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Dec 6 19:22 UTC 2006 |
...and jep's point is, that with the money in the bank, there's no need to
send in more money for another couple of years.
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tod
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response 8 of 124:
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Dec 6 20:15 UTC 2006 |
re #7
I'd totally disagree with that presumption. One of the board's primary
responsibilities is fiduciary and as such should always strive to bring in
some funding. Inflation and whatever else could easily make the current
reserves insufficient.
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keesan
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response 9 of 124:
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Dec 6 21:29 UTC 2006 |
If provide.net dumps us costs could go way up.
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nharmon
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response 10 of 124:
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Dec 6 21:34 UTC 2006 |
At which point, most of us will throw in some bucks. Now, if Grex wants
to start using that money to carry out its mission statement instead of
eating it all up in operating expenses....then JUST DO IT (tm).
But it bothers me that Grex says they need funds with no plan on how to
spend them. Tell 'ya what, publish a budget, a plan of how you would
spend money you don't have yet. If you have a vision, you may find more
people willing to part with their hard earned scratch.
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aruba
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response 11 of 124:
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Dec 6 22:13 UTC 2006 |
Grex's financial situation is pretty stable at the moment, thanks to the
fact that we decreased our expenses a lot by moving into colocation two
years ago. That's a good thing! Before that our bank account was steadily
declining.
I agree tht we don't need a cushion as big as we have right now, though I am
happy we have it. And I agree we should talk about ways to use some of our
money to improve the infrastructure.
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denise
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response 12 of 124:
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Dec 6 23:45 UTC 2006 |
Maybe if we reduced the price of a membership, more people would become
members.
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cross
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response 13 of 124:
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Dec 6 23:54 UTC 2006 |
I could think of a few ways:
Buy a hardware RAID controller and some more disk space. Revamp grex's
storage solution.
Buy a rackmount case and put grex in a rack instead of in a large
tower-style case. That might further reduce costs by lowering the physical
footprint at the colo facility.
Upgrade the grex computer by getting a new processor, RAM, and motherboard.
Put ECC memory and a faster processor onto a server-class motherboard that
can handle serial BIOS consoles. That would eliminate the need for a ``pc
weasel'' card that is continually talked about and never bought.
Pay janc to fix the outstanding bugs in fronttalk and replace the
ever-buggier picospan. Or buy a YAPP license.
With the exception of the last item, these are roughly in decreasing order
of cost.
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