Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: financing for special projects

[Lynn Nadeau / Maraiah (welcome]

Ann Zabaldo refers to funding special projects from "reserves". Here at 
RoseWind Cohousing in Port Townsend WA our Reserves are specifically for repair 
and replacement: eventual expenses for things like roofing, major appliances 
etc. At one point we somewhat accidentally found ourselves withsome 
undesignated funds (interest accrual, I think) and titled it "Unallocated 
Funds". That has been a source of funding, with community approval, for a few 
capital projects such as our greenhouse. There's not much left in that fund at 
this point. Sometimes in our annual budget we have created a Project Reserve, 
to accrue funding over multiple years for an eventual capital expense, 
something we want but don't want to pay for all in one year's budget. 

We try to bring up new projects at annual budget-setting time, but sometimes 
bring a proposal to the community at other times which requires funding from 
some other source(s), such as use of unallocated funds, funds already tagged 
for some other purpose, or even donations. Right now for example we are working 
out where to find the money, mid year, for an upgrade to our heating ability 
for the  common house dining room. 

Maraiah Lynn Nadeau
in the NW where it's 50 degrees, green and flowers everywhere