If you could direct a portion of your monthly dues to benefit a single specific committee, which one would you pick?
0 voters
Goal of creating this poll is to estimate what things might look like if we had a system of allowing members to help direct where their dues go.
All of the above. The whole reason I pay dues is because I am interested in everything the space provides, not just one aspect. Even though I don’t use the wood shop or metal shop, the fact that I can mill down a sexy piece of wood or weld with a fancy MIG welder, is well worth my $50/mo.
Poll is fail.
Like mitch above, I don’t work/teach/hang out in just one area. I regularly work in the Woodshop, Laser, VECTOR, Foundry, and 3D Fab areas (plus use of the general classroom/worktable areas), and have reason to use gear in Creative Arts, Aerospace/RC, Classroom, Electronics, and Metal Shop. I’ve taught classes with honorariums for Foundry, Woodshop, and Creative Arts.
Consider the hypothetical of there being a proposal to spend money on 3d printers or wood tools and we can only afford one, today the burden of deciding where the money goes falls on the board. The question is, can we devise a complex and rigid system governing fund allocation that remove that burden from the board?
Basically I half baked Kent’s horse and am now beating it.
Serious question: is there something akin to a “keep the lights on and the toilet paper stocked” committee? I totally get the idea of providing members with an option to funnel a disproportionate number of dollars to a specific area of interest if that area of interest commands a disproportionate amount of their time/enthusiasm (win/win!)…but for my money the mundane-but-still-absolutely-critical stuff is what I’d personally like my membership dues to go towards if I have the option. Two things I’ve learned from participating in various teacher gift exchanges are that 1) teachers need LOTS of Kleenex and Clorox wipes, and 2) very few people think of those things as educational supplies. 
Best first post, ever 
That’s the Logistics committee headed by Allen (or if you ask him he’ll say “Are you volunteering?”)
Kudos! You are certainly involved in many of the DMS areas/committees, so good for you. Would you say you are a typical, average, representative DMS member?
Altruistic Akido, got it…sounds fun.
To the extent that I use more than one area? Yes, I would think the vast majority of members use tools, materials, or knowledge from multiple committee areas. I can see many a new member signing up because of an interest in just one area, but I’d feel safe saying everyone tends to branch out as they find out more about what is available in other areas of the 'space.
Teaching classes, especially in multiple areas, would be more rare I would think, but not all that unusual.
A lot of the things I work on are cross-functional area. I’ve yet to make something so big I need the car lift … yet, but I routinely use Woodshop, Creative Arts, Electronics, Metal, Machinery, Small Metals, etc. That doesn’t include classes I’ve taken in a wider area of subjects … or the ad hoc training other Makers have provided me. Many Thanks! I’m sure this is true for many of the Makers.
While I did cast a vote, it was based on a parochial fear that to not cast one would leave something under represented that I frequently use.
I think other areas will really ramp up once their capability to acquire/use equipment becomes available: thinking areas that need venting hoods. (Please do not take this as an example for things to get spooled up over.) Sometimes a critical mass or component is needed to get something going.
I personally believe people join DMS because of what they see is available now, not join and get pissed off because something they wanted is immediately procured.
The one item that is finite and probably a bigger constraint is real estate. Basically, IMO, see it hard to start any other interests groups, call it a committee unless it is a subset of another committee, because committees tend to want/need space allocated to them if they are to have any independence. I don’t have answer for that, oh it’s easy to say “Get an larger space”, but that constraint that will be with us for a while. We must adapt to it. The last reorganization of the Space is a good example.
I think the DMS is an amazing place with even more amazing people - it is the Wetware, not the Hardware & Software that makes DMS what it is. Collectively, we share some traits that are both our strengths and cause some of the angst: We are motivated individuals - not passive, we want to do things, make things, learn things, we all seem to think we have a clearer vision than each other it seems. 
Please don’t make me pick just one. It will just make me angry. You won’t like me when I am angry…
Opting out of this poll. We cannot simply fund “what we like” because some resources, however occasionally they are used, require more upkeep than others. For example, I’ve never personally used the HAAS mill nor the CNC router. However, others do, and I may occasionally enlist them for short-term collaborative projects. Or, at some point in the future, climb the educational ladder myself to master these tools.
Essentially, I want my monthly dues to primarily benefit every committee under our roof which operates in a sensibly frugal manner, encourages creativity and learning, and upholds a strong DIY/Do-Ocratic ethic. And, of course, Being Excellent.
So… that’s all of us, aye? 
Nick said it better than I can. I’m voting “this poll is dubious.”
I like what Mitch is saying, if you think about it, we are at or around 1000 members. I believe a majority are paying $50 a month, but some are starving hackers and family members. So if it all averaged to the starving hacker rate, that is $35,000 per month. If half went to the rent and electricity that leaves $17500 to split in committees. That is nearly $1000 per committee per month. I know many committees don’t get an allocation near that amount.
My expenses numbers don’t include honorarium, but much of that is already going to committees so might not have the largest change on outcome.
But also I don’t see Logistics or Infrastructure listed…
Exactly! This is the “back-of-the-envelope” analysis that should get everyone’s attention, and I hope everyone thinks about it. One can quibble with exactly how many members we have or exactly what average membership fee is or how many “real” committees we have, or what our exact fixed vs variable (discretionary) expenses are (additional insight can be gleaned from Chris’s excellent graphic based on Brandon’s excellent data found here: Raising membership cost?), but Nick’s illuminating BOTE estimate reveals that each committee, >>on average<< gets ~$1000/month (and yes, as he points out, not every committee gets that, so no need to chime in if you are one of the <$1000).
If any committee can’t survive on that amount, in general (ignoring any emergency/unexpected large expense), then there’s a problem with that committee’s financial management and planning, not with the amount of money we bring in.
My recollection is, according to what Ben Groves told us, DMS gets about $38k a month. I believe that Brandon figured out that we actually have $4k remaining after all obligations are paid. I don’t believe that any committee gets $1k/month.
As a member for about three weeks, I’d like to echo what @Hardsuit and others have said. I didn’t join Makerspace for any one arena. I joined for the totality. I am regularly seen in the 3D print room because I have experience in 3D and didn’t need to be certified to use printers. I love being able to print in 3D. That being said, tonight I am in the CNC router class and the wood shop 101 next week. I’m an automotive guy so the lift and possibly welding equipment are also on my list of future classes. I have a wood box that I am designing and may need an electronics person to help wire the LEDs. There is no way I could say my membership goes here.
That being said, I understand the concept is to assist board members allocating funds. Why not poll the membership for specific requests / campaigns as they are being brought to the board? That would help in determining is this expensive equipment seen to have use across the membership or if it’s a case of squeaky wheel gets the grease?
I do believe a class is required to use the 3D printers.