Incorporating a non-profit for a local devopsdays event?
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Patrick Connolly
Jan 26, 2014, 2:43:54 PM1/26/14
to devop...@googlegroups.com
We're gearing up for organizing devopsdays Toronto, and at the suggestion of one of the co-organizers, we are leaning toward incorporating a non-profit to help manage the financials.
Has anyone else done this? (No's are just as helpful as Yes's.) Does anyone have any recommendations for or against taking this approach?
Thanks y'all!
Jonathan Clarke
Jan 28, 2014, 5:25:11 AM1/28/14
to devop...@googlegroups.com
Hi Patrick,
When organizing devopsdays Paris, we did not do this (hey, you said No's
were helpful :p).
We just got one of the local company's that one of the lead organizers
worked at (my company and me, to clarify) to manage the financials. It
worked out fine, and was not a lot of work, because our company already
had the tools and accountants required to process all the weirds things
you come across organizing a conference (different VAT rules by country
of origin or destination, sponsoring from local vs foreign companies,
etc...).
Of course, this approach is easier in a smaller company where every line
of accounting doesn't need to be pushed through endless committee
meetings. And of course all organizers need to trust that company and
that organizer. Given these conditions, I would definitely recommend
sticking with this approach, and keeping things simple. I don't know how
it is in Canada, but over here incorporating a non-profit is quite a bit
of (boring!) paperwork.
One question that remains of course is: what happens if there is excess
money (profit) or too little (loss)? In our case, we realized we were
going to have excess and spent it almost all on dinner for everyone and
extra drinks, so we ended up pretty much at break even. If you do have
losses (I don't see why, devopsdays are usually sold out :D), then
someone needs to be prepared to foot the bill. If you do end up with
profits, you could either let the company keep it to compensate for
their accounting work (seems fair for a smallish amount, not too much),
or donate it to a local devops user group or a charity (this has been
requested by several attendees at conferences I've been too).
Hope this helps,
Jonathan
were helpful :p).
We just got one of the local company's that one of the lead organizers
worked at (my company and me, to clarify) to manage the financials. It
worked out fine, and was not a lot of work, because our company already
had the tools and accountants required to process all the weirds things
you come across organizing a conference (different VAT rules by country
of origin or destination, sponsoring from local vs foreign companies,
etc...).
Of course, this approach is easier in a smaller company where every line
of accounting doesn't need to be pushed through endless committee
meetings. And of course all organizers need to trust that company and
that organizer. Given these conditions, I would definitely recommend
sticking with this approach, and keeping things simple. I don't know how
it is in Canada, but over here incorporating a non-profit is quite a bit
of (boring!) paperwork.
One question that remains of course is: what happens if there is excess
money (profit) or too little (loss)? In our case, we realized we were
going to have excess and spent it almost all on dinner for everyone and
extra drinks, so we ended up pretty much at break even. If you do have
losses (I don't see why, devopsdays are usually sold out :D), then
someone needs to be prepared to foot the bill. If you do end up with
profits, you could either let the company keep it to compensate for
their accounting work (seems fair for a smallish amount, not too much),
or donate it to a local devops user group or a charity (this has been
requested by several attendees at conferences I've been too).
Hope this helps,
Jonathan
Ernest Mueller
Jan 28, 2014, 11:01:12 AM1/28/14
to devop...@googlegroups.com
You're in luck. To fill this need, Laura Wickett, wife of DoD Austin
organizer James, started a small business called
ConferenceOps. Basically they handle the money and invoicing and
whatnot for you. She decided rather than just do it one-time just for
DoD Austin, she would offer it as a service to the other DevOpsDays
as well. You can reach her at
<mailto:la...@conferenceops.com>la...@conferenceops.com.
Ernest
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organizer James, started a small business called
ConferenceOps. Basically they handle the money and invoicing and
whatnot for you. She decided rather than just do it one-time just for
DoD Austin, she would offer it as a service to the other DevOpsDays
as well. You can reach her at
<mailto:la...@conferenceops.com>la...@conferenceops.com.
Ernest
>
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Kris Ongbongan
Jan 28, 2014, 12:01:08 PM1/28/14
to devop...@googlegroups.com
I've worked through the process in Nevada & Arizona, not difficult. I hear
that California & New York are a bit more work for non-profits.
Kris.
On 1/26/14 11:43 AM, "Patrick Connolly" <patrick.c...@gmail.com>
wrote:
that California & New York are a bit more work for non-profits.
Kris.
On 1/26/14 11:43 AM, "Patrick Connolly" <patrick.c...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Ann Marie Fred
Jan 31, 2014, 3:19:19 PM1/31/14
to devop...@googlegroups.com
We tried to organize a non-profit in Washington, D.C. once (for a dance troupe), and eventually gave up. It wasn't worth the effort for us to write up by-laws, set up a board of directors, etc. We were trying to do it for individual protection and the tax-exempt status. In the end, we just kept our low-key, non-official approach.
- Ann Marie (who listened to the "no's are OK")
Damon Edwards
Feb 1, 2014, 1:07:56 PM2/1/14
to devop...@googlegroups.com
I second Ernest's recommendation of using Laura Wickett and ConferenceOps. She has done this for multiple different DevOps Days locations. It's a big time savings and relief of a burden to have a professional look after this. I'm not sure if there are any cross border issues, but I'd definitely recommend reaching out to her in any case.
My thoughts on forming your own entity... creating a non-profit or for-profit corporation and remaining compliant with regulations and taxes at both the local and national level is not a commitment to be taken lightly.
On Tue, Jan 28, 2014 at 8:01 AM, Ernest Mueller <ernest....@gmail.com> wrote:
You're in luck. To fill this need, Laura Wickett, wife of DoD Austin organizer James, started a small business called ConferenceOps. Basically they handle the money and invoicing and whatnot for you. She decided rather than just do it one-time just for DoD Austin, she would offer it as a service to the other DevOpsDays as well. You can reach her at <mailto:laura@conferenceops.com>la...@conferenceops.com.
Ernest
At 04:25 AM 1/28/2014, Jonathan Clarke wrote:
Hi Patrick,
On 26/01/14 20:43, Patrick Connolly wrote:
We're gearing up for organizing devopsdays Toronto, and at the suggestion of one of the co-organizers, we are leaning toward incorporating a non-profit to help manage the financials.
Has anyone else done this? (No's are just as helpful as Yes's.) Does anyone have any recommendations for or against taking this approach?
Thanks y'all!
When organizing devopsdays Paris, we did not do this (hey, you said No's were helpful :p).
We just got one of the local company's that one of the lead organizers worked at (my company and me, to clarify) to manage the financials. It worked out fine, and was not a lot of work, because our company already had the tools and accountants required to process all the weirds things you come across organizing a conference (different VAT rules by country of origin or destination, sponsoring from local vs foreign companies, etc...).
Of course, this approach is easier in a smaller company where every line of accounting doesn't need to be pushed through endless committee meetings. And of course all organizers need to trust that company and that organizer. Given these conditions, I would definitely recommend sticking with this approach, and keeping things simple. I don't know how it is in Canada, but over here incorporating a non-profit is quite a bit of (boring!) paperwork.
One question that remains of course is: what happens if there is excess money (profit) or too little (loss)? In our case, we realized we were going to have excess and spent it almost all on dinner for everyone and extra drinks, so we ended up pretty much at break even. If you do have losses (I don't see why, devopsdays are usually sold out :D), then someone needs to be prepared to foot the bill. If you do end up with profits, you could either let the company keep it to compensate for their accounting work (seems fair for a smallish amount, not too much), or donate it to a local devops user group or a charity (this has been requested by several attendees at conferences I've been too).
Hope this helps,
Jonathan
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Damon Edwards
[ DTO Solutions, Inc. | 463 Brewster Ave, Suite 1, Redwood City CA 94063 | o: 1.650.292.9660 x705 | m: 1.415.830.5856 | f: 1.415.358.8435 ]
Steve Pereira
Feb 18, 2014, 4:33:40 PM2/18/14
to devop...@googlegroups.com
I'm in favour of the ConferenceOps route provided there's a simple avenue in the case of a profit/loss - I've reached out to the organizers of DevTO to see if I could pick their brains on this topic, they've dealt with large corporate sponsorships, pay events etc so hopefully they have some insight
On Saturday, February 1, 2014 1:07:56 PM UTC-5, damon wrote:
> I second Ernest's recommendation of using Laura Wickett and ConferenceOps. She has done this for multiple different DevOps Days locations. It's a big time savings and relief of a burden to have a professional look after this. I'm not sure if there are any cross border issues, but I'd definitely recommend reaching out to her in any case.
>
>
>
> My thoughts on forming your own entity... creating a non-profit or for-profit corporation and remaining compliant with regulations and taxes at both the local and national level is not a commitment to be taken lightly.
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jan 28, 2014 at 8:01 AM, Ernest Mueller <ernest....@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> You're in luck. To fill this need, Laura Wickett, wife of DoD Austin organizer James, started a small business called ConferenceOps. Basically they handle the money and invoicing and whatnot for you. She decided rather than just do it one-time just for DoD Austin, she would offer it as a service to the other DevOpsDays as well. You can reach her at <mailto:la...@conferenceops.com>la...@conferenceops.com.
On Saturday, February 1, 2014 1:07:56 PM UTC-5, damon wrote:
> I second Ernest's recommendation of using Laura Wickett and ConferenceOps. She has done this for multiple different DevOps Days locations. It's a big time savings and relief of a burden to have a professional look after this. I'm not sure if there are any cross border issues, but I'd definitely recommend reaching out to her in any case.
>
>
>
> My thoughts on forming your own entity... creating a non-profit or for-profit corporation and remaining compliant with regulations and taxes at both the local and national level is not a commitment to be taken lightly.
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jan 28, 2014 at 8:01 AM, Ernest Mueller <ernest....@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Ernest
>
>
>
>
>
> At 04:25 AM 1/28/2014, Jonathan Clarke wrote:
>
>
> Hi Patrick,
>
>
>
> On 26/01/14 20:43, Patrick Connolly wrote:
>
>
> We're gearing up for organizing devopsdays Toronto, and at the suggestion of one of the co-organizers, we are leaning toward incorporating a non-profit to help manage the financials.
>
>
>
> Has anyone else done this? (No's are just as helpful as Yes's.) Does anyone have any recommendations for or against taking this approach?
>
>
>
> Thanks y'all!
>
>
>
>
> When organizing devopsdays Paris, we did not do this (hey, you said No's were helpful :p).
>
>
>
> We just got one of the local company's that one of the lead organizers worked at (my company and me, to clarify) to manage the financials. It worked out fine, and was not a lot of work, because our company already had the tools and accountants required to process all the weirds things you come across organizing a conference (different VAT rules by country of origin or destination, sponsoring from local vs foreign companies, etc...).
>
>
>
>
> Of course, this approach is easier in a smaller company where every line of accounting doesn't need to be pushed through endless committee meetings. And of course all organizers need to trust that company and that organizer. Given these conditions, I would definitely recommend sticking with this approach, and keeping things simple. I don't know how it is in Canada, but over here incorporating a non-profit is quite a bit of (boring!) paperwork.
>
>
>
>
> One question that remains of course is: what happens if there is excess money (profit) or too little (loss)? In our case, we realized we were going to have excess and spent it almost all on dinner for everyone and extra drinks, so we ended up pretty much at break even. If you do have losses (I don't see why, devopsdays are usually sold out :D), then someone needs to be prepared to foot the bill. If you do end up with profits, you could either let the company keep it to compensate for their accounting work (seems fair for a smallish amount, not too much), or donate it to a local devops user group or a charity (this has been requested by several attendees at conferences I've been too).
>
>
>
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Jonathan
>
>
>
> --
>
>
>
> --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "devopsdays" group.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to devopsdays+...@googlegroups.com.
>
>
>
> Ernest
>
>
>
>
>
> At 04:25 AM 1/28/2014, Jonathan Clarke wrote:
>
>
> Hi Patrick,
>
>
>
> On 26/01/14 20:43, Patrick Connolly wrote:
>
>
> We're gearing up for organizing devopsdays Toronto, and at the suggestion of one of the co-organizers, we are leaning toward incorporating a non-profit to help manage the financials.
>
>
>
> Has anyone else done this? (No's are just as helpful as Yes's.) Does anyone have any recommendations for or against taking this approach?
>
>
>
> Thanks y'all!
>
>
>
>
> When organizing devopsdays Paris, we did not do this (hey, you said No's were helpful :p).
>
>
>
> We just got one of the local company's that one of the lead organizers worked at (my company and me, to clarify) to manage the financials. It worked out fine, and was not a lot of work, because our company already had the tools and accountants required to process all the weirds things you come across organizing a conference (different VAT rules by country of origin or destination, sponsoring from local vs foreign companies, etc...).
>
>
>
>
> Of course, this approach is easier in a smaller company where every line of accounting doesn't need to be pushed through endless committee meetings. And of course all organizers need to trust that company and that organizer. Given these conditions, I would definitely recommend sticking with this approach, and keeping things simple. I don't know how it is in Canada, but over here incorporating a non-profit is quite a bit of (boring!) paperwork.
>
>
>
>
> One question that remains of course is: what happens if there is excess money (profit) or too little (loss)? In our case, we realized we were going to have excess and spent it almost all on dinner for everyone and extra drinks, so we ended up pretty much at break even. If you do have losses (I don't see why, devopsdays are usually sold out :D), then someone needs to be prepared to foot the bill. If you do end up with profits, you could either let the company keep it to compensate for their accounting work (seems fair for a smallish amount, not too much), or donate it to a local devops user group or a charity (this has been requested by several attendees at conferences I've been too).
>
>
>
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Jonathan
>
>
>
> --
>
>
>
> --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "devopsdays" group.
>
>
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
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> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to devopsdays+...@googlegroups.com.
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>
>
>
>
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