Re: Capital improvements
From: Richart Keller (richart.kellergmail.com)
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2013 07:21:14 -0700 (PDT)
If my memory serves me, we established a Capital Improvements fund which is
replenished through a line item in the budget.  A special committee was set
up to receive and prioritize a list of items and to approve funding.
Rick
Pioneer Valley Cohousing
On Sep 4, 2013 10:05 AM, "Sharon Villines" <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com>
wrote:

>
>
> On Sep 4, 2013, at 9:41 AM, David Entin <davidentin [at] comcast.net> wrote:
>
> > We are wondering how cohousing communities finance capital improvements
> > beyond those covered by replacement reserves.
>
> Gifts from people who move out. We don't have a transfer fee but in the
> early years people who had built the place wanted to leave a gift. Perhaps
> they felt guilty for abandoning ship because we were still struggling when
> they left. Recent move-outs have not done this.
>
> Highly recommend instituting a transfer fee NOW for capital improvements
> before anyone is thinking of moving out. I doubt if you will get it later.
> It is an incredible amount of work to orient and make new people feel
> welcome and a part of the mission of the place. So move-outs are work for
> those left behind. Income for the capital improvement fund really helps
> feelings if not the work.
>
> Fundraisers inside the community. We had a talent show one year with nice
> refreshments served including mixed drinks. We had a 14-year-old who felt
> very adult mixing drinks. We just had an auction. Residents donated things
> and we were redoing the CH so we had used furniture to sell. One of our
> residents, it turns out, has auction experience and he was wonderful. Very
> funny guy. Who knew? He doubled the profits I'm sure. I never heard final
> figures but I think it was about $2,000. Even kids participated. An 8 year
> old bought a set of stacking plastic drawers for her bedroom. Her mother
> didn't know she needed them. An 11-year-old bought a camera. Can't remember
> what else the kids bought but they really enjoyed it.
>
> Some of us have wanted to do bake sales at neighborhood street fairs but
> others find this demeaning.
>
> We have also solicited donations for special projects like play equipment
> and a steel fence for a part of our property on a corner with very busy
> traffic.
>
> We rarely spend all the money we budget each year. Overage goes into the
> reserve fund but could just as well go into capital improvements. (Spending
> money is actually hard. Too much research, proposal writing, etc.)
>
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
>
>
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/
>
>
>

Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.