I am overwhelmed by the loving support sudoers and sudomeshers have exhibited these past few months <3 It fills me with gratitude and pride in our community that this kind of labor is acknowledged and appreciated - truly I feel that's a huge milestone for us in organizational 'adulting' :)

However, the more I think through it all, the more I firmly believe that Omni really has to take this step _on its own_ (recognizing that of course Sudo Room and Sudo Mesh are significant contributors and components of Omni). I'm cc'ing Omni's 'Consensus' mailing list on this reply - though yar has already broken down much of the below, I think they need to hear it from me as well:

Omni is now a 5-year old nonprofit (well, technically 7 years old since we took over Sudo Room's 501c3) with over $2mil in assets; half a dozen fiscally-sponsored projects (some with substantial workloads and budgets of their own, such as The Village); half a dozen long-term tenants; hundreds of renters ranging from individuals to grassroots projects to nonprofits and coalitions; a mortgage it needs to re-finance within 21 months (ideally well before then); necessary capital improvements totaling well over half a million dollars that need to be budgeted, financed, and executed within the next 5 years (such as repairing/replacing the roof, the kitchen, cleaning up the exterior, electrical and plumbing upgrades, etc); and desperately needs to build up reserve funds - currently, those reserve funds consist of the $30K generously donated by Sudo Mesh, and that's likely to be used for the kitchen. Bare minimum we should have an additional $30K Operating Reserve Fund (3 months' expenses) and $90K in a Capital Reserve fund in the event of emergency.

We are not your typical small nonprofit with merely monthly rent to pay and a very bounded scope of services donated by volunteers - we're a mid-size organization and owner of a large, unmaintained building providing a wide range of services at under-market rate to dozens of other small nonprofit and grassroot orgs, with a small-size operating budget - and we very much need to level up if we want to continue operating successfully and serving those communities effectively. That includes, as I mentioned at the last Delegate's Meeting, hiring an outside CPA to work with me on auditing Omni's books (which will be a requirement for our commercial real estate loan consolidation application) and training a new Treasurer, in addition to compensating the bookkeeping services outlined in my original proposal.

As for the premise that refusing to de minemis compensate long-exploited labor is a matter of de-biasing the mediation with GCEA, let's please acknowledge that the small classroom's door remains locked despite the Delegates never consenting to this, GCEA rent continues to be unpaid and is now >$2K, and we've gotten yet another noise complaint from a neighbor due to yet another late-night GCEA event with amplified sound going past midnight despite continual reminders that all Commons WG are very familiar with, that amplification ends at 11 on weekends. Yes, we do need a mediation: to address GCEA's accountability first and foremost, and this is a separate issue to Omni's need for professional bookkeeping. Again and again, 'race' continues to be used as a blanket excuse and cover for complete lack of accountability for constant (and conscious) violations of community agreements that every other member collective works in good faith to uphold. Clearly, if anything, what's racist here is BAPS (a collective of two blocking the consensus of at least 6 collectives and over 30 longtime individual collective members) assuming that Almaz is somehow incapable of understanding and working with the very few, but very important, core agreements that keep Omni somehow, miraculously, surviving as a functional commons.

And yes, Julian, as you acknowledge with to-be-expected caveats, you are straight-up perpetuating the misogyny inherent in devaluing and invisibilizing this labor by suggesting that we find an unpaid intern at random to do the kind of work that every other organization of this scale pays substantially above $25/hr to do (and subtly suggesting I spend even more time and labor training them).

Please consider this message and any subsequent replies on this thread in the upcoming Delegate's Assembly, which unfortunately I'm unable to attend as I'm out of town.

On Sun, Mar 31, 2019 at 1:19 PM Lesley Bell <lbx2045@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello meshers,

I've recently put up a proposal on loomio, and it may have been too vague as I didn't want to delve into the rather intricate backstory for those of you who don't participate as much with Sudo Room and the Omni as a whole. I am attaching both Jenny's proposal and the email thread related to the proposal for those of you would like more information before you make your vote. 

This is a very reasonable request on Jenny's part, and it is a very similar proposal to the one she put forward to Sudomesh (that we enthusiastically approved) a few months ago. We have offered various forms of aid to the Omni in the past, and this is one of the best ways I can think of that we can help them now as we all figure out how power, voluntary service, and need can be balanced in these organizations we care so much about.

Lesley

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Lesley Bell <zvezdalune@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 30, 2019 at 10:08 PM
Subject: Fwd: [sudo-discuss] Fwd: Proposal: Hire or Replace Me as Omni's Bookkeeper
To: Lesley Bell <LBx2045@gmail.com>




---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Jenny Ryan <tunabananas@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 8, 2019 at 12:21 PM
Subject: [sudo-discuss] Fwd: Proposal: Hire or Replace Me as Omni's Bookkeeper
To: sudo-discuss <sudo-discuss@lists.sudoroom.org>




---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Jenny Ryan <tunabananas@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 8, 2019 at 12:15 PM
Subject: Proposal: Hire or Replace Me as Omni's Bookkeeper
To: <consensus@lists.omnicommons.org>


Dear Omninoms,


Recently, the topic of more regular and transparent financial reporting has come up in Omni Delegates Meetings. While this has traditionally been the domain of the Finance Working Group, said working group has usually seen fewer than 3 members in attendance, and historically has relied on one or two volunteers to uphold day-to-day financial transactions, regular reporting, annual filings (State, Federal, County, and City), loan repayments, invoicing, bank reconciliations, bill payments, check cashing and internal financing and filings. Additionally, we continue to receive requests for and accrue fiscally-sponsored projects, significantly adding to our administrative overhead. Our property tax exemption application is due February 15th, which requires detailed documentation of all entities that use the building (including one-time event rentals and small recurring group meetings). We also need to consolidate our mortgage loan within the next two years. Total number of hours spent on this labor each month has frequently trended toward that of full-time employment (with overtime).


I am now incapable of continuing to engage on this level with Omni’s bookkeeping and operations on a volunteer basis. I enjoy this work, and have been studying nonprofit bookkeeping and law generally over the past three years, obtained Quickbooks certifications, attended webinars and workshops, and have already begun doing nonprofit bookkeeping as a paid position for other clients. However, I have bills to pay and will soon need to find full-time paid employment or the equivalent - which means I won't have time to work on Omni.


This work adds up to minimally 20 hours/month and is reliant on skilled labor that has been consistently out of reach for Omni Commons since its inception. Starting March 1st, all of our community loans - totalling over $100K with monthly average repayments to the tune of $3,200 -  will have been repaid! We are now in a position, financially, to afford professional bookkeeping and administrative services (see Feasibility).


Paying for skilled labor is not unprecedented: since our beginnings, we have readily paid the hourly or project-based rate for legal assistance, city permitting and inspection fees, and building and maintenance work (including electrical, plumbing, fire safety, and roof repair) - as well as supporting paid A/V for events. Traditionally, those we hire have been people aligned and familiar with Omni’s vision and structure, or recommended by comrades within our community.

Summary/Proposal:

It seems to me that Omni has the following options:

  1. Hire an accountant and train them in the structure and history of Omni and its collectives (probably expensive);

  2. Hire another Omni volunteer and train them in bookkeeping, taxes, etc; (who will do the training?);

  3. Attempt to find someone else to do this work for free;

  4. Pay me to continue doing the work I've been doing for free over the past 3+ years.


Hire me as Omni’s interim bookkeeper/operations admin on a $25 hourly basis, with a reexamination of the agreement and contractual follow-up due diligence by a consensed-upon Omni Delegate upon the start of the next fiscal quarter (April 2019), with an aspirational increase to $30/hr before the end of 2019.

Accomplishments:

  • Created Chart of Accounts, generated nonprofit financial statements annually and custom reports on an as-needed basis for four nonprofit organizations (Sudo Room, OOC, Omni, and Sudo Mesh), and one worker-cooperatives (Agua Viva);

  • Created custom reports automatically sent monthly to Commons WG and Sudo Room;

  • Created and maintain Omni and Sudo Mesh’s business plans and budgets (both actual and 5-year Projected);

  • Filed Forms 990 and 199 (taxes) for all of the above organizations dating back to 2013

  • Rigorous bank account reconciliations, including redoing Omni’s dating back to 2014;

  • Oversaw Omni’s building purchase process, which required hundreds of hours, nearly 50 individual and organizational entities, and nearly 75 documents and signed contracts;

  • Oversaw Omni’s applications for and successful acquisitions of federal, state, city/business, sales, and property tax exemptions;

  • Oversaw much of the soliciting, drafting of promissory notes, and near-complete (as of March 1st) repayment of over $100,000 in community loans;

  • Oversee collective invoicing and followup of overdue invoices;

  • Drafted the following key nonprofit governance/finance documents for Omni (and the same for Sudo Mesh minus the latter two bullet points):

Qualifications and Skills:

  • Quickbooks ProAdvisor Certification (May 2018);

  • 5 years of nonprofit bookkeeping experience (Sudo Room 2013-current; Sudo Mesh 2013-current; Omni Commons 2015-current);

  • Proficiency with Quickbooks Online, Google Drive, and MediaWiki;

  • Knowledge of bookkeeping and generally accepted best practice accounting principles for complex non-profit organizations;

  • Strong organizational and communication skills; able to communicate effectively and efficiently through verbal and/or written means;

  • Attention to detail, especially with regards to data entry;

  • Discretion in the handling of confidential or sensitive information;

  • Great love of spreadsheets and documentation.

Responsibilities / Deliverables:

The vast majority of these I already do, but would be able to do more consistently and ideally while training a new Treasurer of the nonprofit.

  • Monthly bookkeeping tasks:

    • Bank account reconciliations in Quickbooks;

    • Accounts payable (bills - maintain Vendor files and payments including bill pay system & payroll;

    • Accounts receivable (invoices - ensure that receivables are collected promptly);

    • Liabilities (loan repayments & security deposits);

    • Assets (calculating value of purchases of equipment, machinery, fixtures, furniture, leasehold improvements & in-kind donations; calculating depreciation);

  • Regular, transparently-documented financial reporting:

    • Monthly income and expense reports to be submitted to the Delegates Council by the first Thursday of the month;

    • Monthly customized reports for Commons and Project income & loss;

    • Quarterly reports including: Incomes & Expenses (+ comparative analysis); Accounts Payable/Receivable; Bank Acct. Reconciliation; Income & Expense changes over 1-5 yrs;

    • Annual reporting including: current year’s Statement of Activity & Statement of Financial Position; State and Federal tax filings;

  • Communications & Fundraising:

    • Preparation and sending of donation acknowledgement letters by Jan 31st;

    • Assist with maintenance of grant budgets, and prepare reports for funders;

    • Prettified financial reports and binders for potential funders.

  • State Filings:

    • Prepare and file annual Federal 990s;

    • CA State Filings: Forms 199 (and schedules) and RRF-1s;

    • Bi-annual Statements of Information (SI-100s);

    • Property Tax Exemption Application submitted by Feb. 15th annually;

  • Budgeting:

    • Maintain current month-to-month and 5-Year Projected Budget docs;

    • Maintain Designated Funds (eg; Kitchen), Operational & Capital Reserve Funds;

    • Budgets created as-needed for grant applications and fundraising campaigns.

    • Create mortgage loan consolidation application package.

  • Documentation:

    • Updating our Guidestar and other online profiles;

    • Ensure accounting and communication processes are properly documented, and annual reports published on our website/wiki;

    • Update and prettify business plan;

    • Filing annual Board Meeting minutes (analog and digital);

    • Filing system management (analog and digital) and clear labeling/ documentation.

Goals & Aspirations:

  • Build Operating and Capital Reserve Funds as budgeted;

  • Scheduled regular maintenance of roof, exterior, HVAC, Fire, etc;

  • Boost the following potential sources of Omni income: MediaLab, Kitchen, Commons, recurring donations (eg; Patreon), grant awards, substantial donors/foundations;

  • Create and propose a long-term plan for moving toward sustainable energy (solar) and full-venue capabilities (fire sprinkler system, Conditional Use Permit / Liquor License, catering, event promotion, streamlined booking system);

  • Create and propose a sustainable compensation plan for currently-undervalued volunteer and member-collective labor (eg; percentage of Commons/event rental income to bottomliners and member-collective sponsors).

Financial Feasibility:

Omni’s current monthly expenses average $9,500/mo once all short-term loans are repaid in February of 2019. Our current monthly average income is $10,750, leaving a surplus of roughly $1,200/month in the beginning of 2019. This income is an average and does not reflect one-time larger grants and donations, which we’d be in a much better position to obtain with some upgrades to our documentation, reporting, and donor engagement.


I propose to do Omni’s bookkeeping work for hire (while still participating in additional volunteer capacity as I always have) on a 3-month trial basis at $25/hr, with hours fully documented and invoiced by the 1st of the month. This is a discounted rate ($45-$60/hr) and about what Omni is currently able to afford.     

This full proposal, including my resume, can be read and commented on as a Google Doc here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pZwwjGPjsCryp78dySTHFbrmiTZR-Q5FqQf82S5eTpk/edit?usp=sharing

Many thanks for your consideration. I hope to continue working with Omni Commons in a capacity that is sustainable for me and enables the continued fiscal operations of the building.
<3
Jenny

Help open a professional kitchen at the Omni Commons in Oakland!
https://omnicommons.org/kitchen
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
"Technology is the campfire around which we tell our stories."
-Laurie Anderson
"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it."
 -Hannah Arendt
"To define is to kill. To suggest is to create."
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--
Lesley Bell

432-266-0397
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