Wiki
The denhac board meets monthly, currently the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30pm (though as a member, look for the announcement in your email a week before when the agenda opens, and a day before when the list is finalized)
At board meetings, any member can add to the agenda to propose a use of our membership funds to improve the space, that is then voted on by the full board. Small expenses can be approved by the Ops Manager towards the monthly ops budget without board vote.
Here’s an example list of items to include in a proposal. Some recently accepted proposals have been around 1/2 to 2 pages; smaller expenses could be shorter, and more expensive items might take more explanation of why it’s a good investment. If you’re proposing a new tool we don’t have yet it’s important to coordinate with other members first. Each area has a special interest group that meets once a month to discuss improvements to that area. Talk to members at a SIG meeting or in the slack channels prefixed #sig-Area to see if your idea is something that’s already been considered or being worked on.
- What you’re asking to spend money on (name of tool or software)
- Which members will use this?
- How is this helpful to the space?
- How many members are currently working around the lack of availability of this, and what is the risk of workarounds continuing? (safety, liability, ease of use, etc)
- If possible, count the number of members and use it to calculate member-months to pay back the cost – we’re not rigorous about this but it’s a useful data point. The board doesn’t fund proposals on a strict cost benefit analysis but it’s useful to think about before proposing a $10,000 niche tool that only benefits a small number of members.
- What alternatives have we considered?
- Who will own maintenance moving forward (if needed)?
- Who will train others on this (if training is required)?
- Who will update the wiki?
After the proposal is submitted to the meeting, the proposer (or someone else representing the proposal) should be present at the meeting to explain it and answer any questions. After the vote, our Treasurer can help get the expense purchased or reimbursed.