sudo-discuss

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7523 discussions

by Yardena Cohen

A lot of upcoming Omni projects depend on having an accurate map of where all the electricity goes and how much. We started a wiki page a while ago but it's incomplete: https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Electrical Next Saturday at 12pm a bunch of us will get together and try to fill all the gaps. We will have nightlights, multimeters, walkie talkies and so on. Cafe Chanti will be open at the same time in the entrance hall, and I will treat all volunteers to coffee, jamaica, tostadas, etc. Hope to see you there!

7 years, 3 months

Invoice 1742 from Omni Commons

by Omni Commons

Dear Sudo Room, Here's your invoice! We appreciate your prompt payment. Thank you for stewarding the commons. Love and solidarity, Omni Commons ------------------------ Pledge Summary -------------------------- Invoice # : 1742 Invoice Date: 04/01/2019 Due Date: 04/25/2019 Terms: Net 25 Amount Due: $8,000.00 The complete version has been provided as an attachment to this email. ---------------------------------------------------------------------

7 years, 3 months

Fwd: [omni-consensus] GCEA Lease Termination Proposal

by Yardena Cohen

This proposal is currently being blocked by BAPS but it's still important for Sudoroom to discuss it. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Laura Turiano <scylla(a)riseup.net> Date: Thu, Mar 7, 2019 at 7:07 PM Subject: [omni-consensus] GCEA Lease Termination Proposal To: consensus(a)lists.omnicommons.org <consensus(a)lists.omnicommons.org> GCEA Lease Termination Proposal This proposal was developed with input from Chiapas Solidarity Committee and Global Women’s Strike, and represents GWS consensus. Laura and Jenny also contributed. OC will send a 3 day notice (prepared by OC's attorney Jesse Palmer) to GCEA and to Oakland Public Education Fund advising them that they have 3 days to remedy the unauthorized signature on the lease, any other breaches of the lease, and pay all back rent - or vacate the Omni. This step is necessary for several reasons: The pattern of misrepresentation of GCEA’s legal status and finances, and failure to pay its agreed-upon rent, undermines the spirit of trust and cooperation that is necessary for collective sustainability. To protect OC from a situation in which the lack of a legal agreement with a resident unincorporated organization leads to inadequate insurance coverage, or threatens OC’s 501c3 status (via Jesse: “Omni has an obligation to use its assets exclusively for charitable purposes and if parties are using space but not paying rent, that may be conferring a benefit on private persons unless they are using the space exclusively for charitable purposes. This is one of the required provisions in Omni's articles of incorporation, which read (in relevant part): ‘The property of this corporation is irrevocably dedicated to charitable purposes and no part of the net income or assets of the organization shall ever inure to the benefit ... any private person.’” ). Given GCEA’s false claim of being a 501c3, lack of transparent accounting, and Almaz’s possible use of GCEA funds for personal expenses, this is a real issue. To clarify that GCEA has no right under our policies and bylaws to delegate a representative to the OC board as it has no legal contract with OC. To reduce conflict during the day to day operation of OC until the proposed mediation has concluded. Until a new lease is negotiated, GCEA may have events and classes at OC by reserving space through the normal event request and scheduling process. Almaz and other members of GCEA are welcome to participate in Omni activities as individuals. _______________________________________________ consensus mailing list consensus(a)lists.omnicommons.org https://omnicommons.org/lists/listinfo/consensus

7 years, 3 months

Fwd: [omni-consensus] Proposal to Immediately Terminate Bay Area Public School Fiscal Sponsorship Contract and Member Collective Status

by Yardena Cohen

Hi folks, sorry I've been a bad delegate and forgot to forward these proposals before now. I haven't made up my mind personally about whether this is a good idea. Back in 2013 BAPS and Sudoroom were the formative members of Omni. They are a very different group today. In some ways, we are too. I don't take this lightly at all, and I feel it may be one of the most consequential decisions we've made in years. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Laura Turiano <scylla(a)riseup.net> Date: Thu, Mar 21, 2019 at 6:08 PM Subject: [omni-consensus] Proposal to Immediately Terminate Bay Area Public School Fiscal Sponsorship Contract and Member Collective Status To: consensus(a)lists.omnicommons.org <consensus(a)lists.omnicommons.org> Proposal to Immediately Terminate Bay Area Public School Fiscal Sponsorship Contract and Member Collective Status Bay Area Public School was fiscally sponsored by OC to: ● enlarge movement and collective understanding of the structures we face; ● place our present activities in their relevant history; ● understand the forces of evolution acting on our actions and organizations; ● study the extant literature addressing political forms and structures, varieties of party and organization forms, the archive of movement politics and principles, and strategies of organizing; ● organize classes, seminars, workshops and educational events on the above topics; ● coordinate space for these activities in the Omni and elsewhere; ● develop syllabi, outlines, focus topics, lists of references, etc. Since January 2018, BAPS has only held the following 4 classes: Marx was Right Reading Group - 2-6/2018 Poets’ House - Intermittent events 2-11/2018 The East: Solo Performance Laboratory - 5-10/2018 Writing with World Stuff - 10/2018 to the present. BAPS has made little to no effort to recruit new classes, research what kind of classes would be of interest and benefit to OC or the neighborhood community, or otherwise use OC fiscal sponsorship to develop the activities for which it was sponsored. BAPS has made no effort to ask for donations from class participants or do any other fundraising and has made no material contributions to OC in over a year. BAPS has had only between 1-5 active members for at least 2 years. Only 2 people have consistently attended BAPS meetings. With usually only 2 members from similar backgrounds discussing and deciding upon any proposal or issue, they only hear a very limited range of opinions. Most collectives have to reach some level of agreement between many more people from more diverse perspectives. Currently, BAPS and its delegate are blocking the proposal to hire Jenny Ryan as bookkeeper on a temporary contract. This proposal is urgent and supported by everyone else in the organization. This block shows that BAPS does not take seriously the main duty of a Delegate to support sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management of Omni Commons as an organization. Given BAPS minimal activities at OC, it’s lack of any unified organizing effort, its lack of support by participating members, it’s failure to fulfill its responsibility to support the continued healthy functioning of the organization, and its lack of need for fiscal sponsorship (since they collect no donations), BAPS’ fiscal sponsorship agreement should be discontinued. Per the agreement: 8. The board retains the right to terminate collection of funds for the Project at any time upon giving written notice to the Committee. Taking into account the large workload of the Treasurer, bookkeeper, and Finance Working Group over the next several months, and the length of time the proposal to hire Jenny has been stalled, this decision should be made and enacted immediately. Since member collectives are required to be either fiscally sponsored projects of OC or tenants of OC, termination of the fiscal sponsorship contract also ends BAPS status as a member collective. Current or future classes that members of BAPS would like to hold can be scheduled at OC through event contracts via the Commons working group. Should an actual collective come together to undertake similar activities to BAPS in the future, it is welcome to apply to be a member collective or for fiscal sponsorship. _______________________________________________ consensus mailing list consensus(a)lists.omnicommons.org https://omnicommons.org/lists/listinfo/consensus

7 years, 3 months

vacuum gauge

by robb

anyone haz vacuum gauge I can borrow or know where any are in sudo? thought we had some but couldnt find one i need to diagnose a lean fuel condition on my van thx

7 years, 3 months

Anyone have a 3D scanner?

by Lisha Sterling

Hello Sudoers! LTNS... My friend Roberto Monge is in the Bay Area with the chief of the Lenca Nation, chief Chevez. A sculptor has made a replica of a piece of artwork that was taken from Lenca territory, and they would like to get a 3D scan of the sculpture. I've cc'd Roberto on this email. If anyone in the sudoroom community has an idea that could help then find a 3D scanner they could borrow/use, please reach out to Roberto via rmonge at p o box dot com Thank you! Lisha Sterling Geeks Without Bounds

7 years, 3 months

SudoRoom Clear Plastic Bins - Data Entry and Labels

by Jared Null

As of today i've labeled all the clear plastic bin shelves (5 total) A0-A5, B0-B5, C0-C5, D0-D5, E0-E5, each individual shelf is now in a Google Sheet <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRe0_0tT3Txr8tkh47LwZBPmX0z…>, items are entered from top bottom left to right first. Cheers! Null

7 years, 3 months

Fwd: Proposal: Hire or Replace Me as Omni's Bookkeeper

by Jenny Ryan

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Jenny Ryan <tunabananas(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, Feb 8, 2019 at 12:15 PM Subject: Proposal: Hire or Replace Me as Omni's Bookkeeper To: <consensus(a)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 <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pZwwjGPjsCryp78dySTHFbrmiTZR-Q5FqQf82S5…>). 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 <https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Finances#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 <https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Finances#990_Tax_Forms> (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 <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17qHsn6HUcqWGElqFEdmauFQTrdE-JhyT5pZ…>, which required hundreds of hours, nearly 50 individual and organizational entities, and nearly 75 documents and signed contracts; - Oversaw Omni’s applications <https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4_Q7DQvNFT-bXE4NGQ2WVZzRm8> 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): - Omni Commons Budget <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rvkMc5lmd8PovoViNLdvlrv0tSyvrH7iB0S…> - Omni Commons Business Plan <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DSVoQlY2SiX8EjYS9HcNke6Kkj5pVOAqOWO6Zg_…> - Omni Commons Fiscal Policies & Procedures <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QiQeCfD1AwaSy4R5gch67bSdSmgirZ0GZxj8vcF…> - Omni Finances Overview and Financial Reports <https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Finances> (2012-current) - Commercial Real Estate Loan Application <https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4_Q7DQvNFT-ZU9qdjRlaFlUdlk> - Bottomlined budgets for the Kitchen, <https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gog9KDQb8youQp8LalMM11vquNyWAVN2v2z_LEeTV…> the Media Lab <https://omnicommons.org/wiki/MediaLab>, and nearly a dozen grant applications for Omni, Sudo Room, Sudo Mesh, ABDC, and Qilombo. *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-Q5FqQf82S5… 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." -Stéphane Mallarmé "Anything done for the first time unleashes a demon." --Dave Sim, "Cerebus the Aardvark" ~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

7 years, 3 months

Sudo-Defrag

by Adam

A new year has come round, trash and e-waste abound! Sudo is not quite solid state, we must care for its fate. I'll take out clutter by the bag, let us now plan to de-frag? - - - - Weblog: http://adammunich.com With great power comes great responsibility.

7 years, 3 months

Important!! For Locker Holders.

by Jared Null

On Wednesday, March 13th, any Lockers not identified as claimed and registered on the Google Sheet <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BdtmfMAa-i4RaBnM1pbAy-NadRvy1plG2s-…> will be Thrown Out, If you are unsure which locker# is yours, look at the Photo Album <https://photos.app.goo.gl/jjVNLGH8F3A3ahhWA>, each locker is labeled with its corresponding Locker#. Also, please physically label your locker with your name and contact info. Thanks, Null

7 years, 3 months

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