Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Membership definitions

[Rob Sandelin (floriferous]

Your ownship model will define what a member is, typically a condo unit
owner. If you go Co-op you can have every individual be a member, if you go
condo, then each condo will get one membership to be divided amoung
co-owners. The banks usually like it this way, which is why most groups do
it.

Rob Sandelin
Northwest Intentional Communties Association
Check out the community resources at
http://infoteam.com/nonprofit/nica/resource.hmtl

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cohousing-l [at] freedom.mtn.org [mailto:cohousing-l [at] 
> freedom.mtn.org]On
> Behalf Of Jeff Hobson
> Sent: Thursday, June 03, 1999 2:37 AM
> Subject: Membership definitions
>
>
> How do other groups define "members": as individuals or as "households"?
>
> We're getting a group moving and are establishing our "membership". Some
> feel that each household defines a member, as it will be households that
> will make most major financial commitments (unit purchase). Concerns about
> "household" membership include: what happens to a "membership" if a
> household splits or if two single-person households join together; how to
> treat households of unrelated adults.
>
> Others feel that each adult individual is a member, as decision-making,
> operational dues, and responsibilities are more naturally distributed to
> individuals. Concerns are that individual membership will make it more
> complicated to calculate how many units the community needs and to figure
> out financial commitments.
>
> Anyone have advice & experience? (full disclosure: so far, I think the
> "individual" membership route makes more sense, but we're looking for
> advice from the collected wisdom of the list)
>
> Thanks,
> Jeff Hobson
>     who will be a "member" (or part of one) when we define what that means
> East Bay Cohousing
>     in early stages, meeting monthly with several committees
>
>
> Jeff Hobson
> Bay Area Transportation Choices Forum
> 1915 Essex Street
> Berkeley, CA 94703
> phone:        510-540-7280
> fax:          510-540-7229
> email:        jhobson [at] igc.org
> WWW:  www.priven.sf.ca.us/forum
>       www.priven.sf.ca.us/coalition
>