GEOMEO offices

[attroll]

With the latest push on the geocoin, it's obvious that some sort of treasurer will be needed to handle the money.

wbdent I was talking to Cameoooooo tonight in chat for an extended period of time. She has volunteered as treasurer and she thinks we need a president too. But seems to think it should be me. I would take the reign if everyone wants me to. But this is all pending everyone’s approval. Unless you all want to have nominations and go through the voting process? We are doing this so that we can set the group up as a non-profit organization. That is the main reason and also so that Cameoooooo can set up a bank account to handle the money for the coins.

wbdent We feel guilty that we are shoving thin down everyone’s throats. But we need to get this done for the non-profit side of things.

wbdent Lets here some feedback on this.

[Beach Comber]

Well, it makes sense. I suppose it poses the question about a formal organization again. I don't have any concerns about this arrangement and commend you both for your willingness to step in and assume the roles. If there are concerns from others that this is too quick and too informal, perhaps we could consider it a temporary establishment of officers and then hold an election at a later date. Either that or we could move forward with establishing an organization and then work on the coins.

Does establishing an organization as non-profit legally require certain activities such as meetings, quorums, minutes, elections, by-laws, etc. ? And if so, how will we move forward with that in the interim? eek - feels like it has the potential to get complicated quickly.

Thanks for raising the question - my guess is that you did so with a bit of trepidation

[attroll]

Establishing an organization as non-profit does not require legal activities such as meetings. It does not really even require a president. Just someone to submit paperwork to the IRS. The only reason we say we need a president is because we do need a temperary treasurer to handle the geocoin money. It would look silly to have a treasurer without a president. If that makes any sense. The president would be only for paperwork for now. If we actually become an organized group with scheduled meetings and things of that type then we could hold offices later or we could hold them now. We just thought we would mention what we thought about and see if everyone agreed. If not then we can throw some suggested officers out there now and vote on them.

[Mainiac1957]

You guys sound like you have everything under control. I would be willing to do whatever is needed to keep it going. I have no idea what is envolved in setting up a non-profit group, but if you tell me I can assist. I Do like the accronim GEOMEO. It sounds very global.

[Neoncouple]

Well guys if this is what needs to be done then I'm all for it. Do we really need to setup nonprofit just to handle the coin money, after all we are only talking about a few hundred dollars not several grand. Just a separate account in cameooo's name should do. we can give her a title, I like coin queen myself, if you want and attroll can be grand poobough. beats getting the IRS involved in something as small as a group buy on coins. Now if we want to be and official club that is a different matter all together. I with you either way.



ALL HAIL THE QUEEN!!!!

[WhereRWe?]

As I hope someone will recall, I suggested the idea of a Maine Geocaching Organization back in November, and I still think it's a great idea. Here are my comments on the latest ideas:

1. I don't like GEOMEO. Sounds silly. How about just GeoME - short for just Gocaching Maine - with out the "O" for Organization?

2. Much as I respect Rick, as the webmaster he has a LOT of work already, and as a organization president, he would be spread awfully thin. How about Brad or Dave as President. (Dave has already shown great organizational skills).

3. Membership/Dues. Much as people dislike having to pay to be a part of an organization I think that dues are necessary, if for nothing else than to fund the website. I also think that membership should be a 2-tier system, i.e., membership would be free (anyone can visit the website), but paid members only would be able to participate in forums, chat, and post pictures to the site (extra benefits similar to premium membership on geocaching.com).

OK - lets keep this discussion going!

[Sudonim]

I use a business lawyer in Bangor for my business, and he has handled a temporary "for profit" group for my mom in the past. I can call him this week and see what is required for a non-profit to legally form and if he thinks it's necessary.
-Would we form this group for a 1-shot purchase of coins? Or would we maintain the bank account, and the legal organization, for future coin purchases (extra demand for the current coin, or, as people have suggested, changing the back of the coin from year to year.
-How would retained profits, if any, be disbursed back to members of the group? And what does that do to non-profit status. Maybe instead, hold them in reserve to drop future price of coins, or donate to a charity.
-Does forming this group expose the members to any liability? "I ordered these coins and didn't get them, I'm suing" (Ridiculous, but you see it on the news all the time)

I think that the first question is the key. If we plan on a one-shot, I would think it would be a lot less formal, but we'd have to do it all over again for another order.
Any other things I should ask the lawyer that you can think of, let me know.

[WhereRWe?]

Ok - and as far as funds are concerned, I think we need a PayPal account instead of, or in addition to, a band account. That way people could pay directly, and the treasurer wouldn't have to worry about waiting for checks to clear, etc, especially from people "from away" who want coins.

There would be some people who would want to pay by check, but PayPal is becoming increasingly popular for payments such as this.

[Beach Comber]

Thanks Rick - for clarifying - sounds like it could be kept quite simple. I'm all for whatever works and again commend you both for your time, energy, and efforts.

GEOMEO - hmmmmmm - not sure. I think I like GeoME better. Maybe there are other acronyms that would work as well. Perhaps this could become an item to take a poll on. But in all actuality - I am comfortable with either of these.

PayPal sounds like it would be a great option to explore.

HAIL to the Queen

[attroll]

WhereRWe?

wbdent To answer your question, Cameoooooo is in the process of going to open a savings account this week for the coins. The reason she is opening a savings account is so that she can open a paypal account.

wbdent Also if anyone is not happy with this we can nominate others for the two positions. I will not be offended. I don’t care if I hold the position or not. I am more then willing to help though and I will do everything that I can to better our group.

Beach Comber

wbdent Cameoooooo came up with the name GEOMEO. It did sound cute and I laughed my butt off when she first typed it. But we did no decide on that. I just titled the subject that way to get everyone’s attention. I am wondering is she came up with that because it rhymes with her name. LOL.