Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Donations from Community Funds

[Jim Snyder-Grant (jimsg]

At New View (Acton MA) we don't have a policy against this, but we haven't
done it. Contributions have all been organized by one or more households,
asking other households if they want to donate.  Sometimes, households have
asked if the contribution can be done in the name of New View. Each time,
someone has raised a concern or an objection about it, based on their lack
of support for the specific cause, and the donations have proceeded without
that label.

We even do our contribution to the TCN -- I mean Coho/USA -- this way. A few
households contribute the money & tend to get first dibs on the magazines.

A lot of money gets raised using this model, without any need to involve the
monthly meetings or the steering committee.

The closest we get to supporting outside organizations is that we have a
political sign policy, regarding the use of the common space that is nearest
the main public road. We did manage to agree to support one state rep
candidate, and her sign was on our 'front lawn' for a couple of weeks.

-Jim

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sharon Villines" <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com>
To: <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 10:32 AM
Subject: [C-L]_Donations from Community Funds



Question: What are your agreements and practices concerning making donations
in the name of the community from your general funds to local projects --
like bricks in public parks, books for the local library, funds for local
historical societies, funds for people burned out of houses, peace marches,
etc.

Our current issue is donating money to put a brick with the communities name
in the walk of the recreation center in a nearby park. The most opposing
concerns are that :

1. we would be doing this without considering the other donations and needs
in the community. Is this a priority greater than other needs? We have a
policy of not taking positions in the name of the community although we
support individuals in their efforts in the larger community.

2. For heaven's sake! It's $50. Just do it. It's the public rec center in
the park down the street where our kids play. What's the big deal? I'm
disgusted that people are being so stingy.

I realize that the second concern is stated emotionally and the first is
not, but that is how they are being stated here and I can't edit them more
objectively. BUT I would note that some of the emotion in the second concern
is probably in reaction to the unemotional "we just can't shoot from the hip
on these things" tone of the first concern.

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org



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