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All the Perl that's Practical to Extract and Report

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I hereby announce my candidacy for TPF President 3 Comments More | Login | Reply /

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  • The mechanism of a non-profit membership organization in the United States is quite complicated and overly complex. It basically further cripples any action that the administration can do. When I started Perl Mongers, a couple of lawyers explained it all to me and my research all turned up the same answer: don't form as a membership organization if you can help it. If TPF becomes more like a guild (which is what you propose), its tax situation is completely different.

    If you were only in the presidency for a
    • As I said, it's a fictional scenario, but one that (ignoring the details of implementing it) I think many people would like to see.

      More participation, more feedback, more opportunity.

      As one of the partners of Stonehenge and the publisher of the only Perl magazine, your view is from a position far closer to the action than people on the other side of the world, with little to no access to the North American community.

      I personally got more out listening into a stream of Allison from Randal's laptop at one mee
      • People don't not particpate because they don't have a way to give money. A membership organization is not going to change that.

        In reality, charitable organizations will always have to beg for money. You get that by developing personal relationships with the people who give out the money (not just the organization that has the money). As a charity, no one can inure private benefit, which means that your plan turns TPF into a non-charity, which cuts you off from charitable giving.

        Changing things to an foreign corporation won't help. You'll still have to register as a foreign corporation in the US, and if you don't follow the IRS's laws on charitable organizations, you end up paying taxes again and cutting off donors.

        I don't think there are a thousand people out there willing to give to TPF. They already have a way to do that, and they aren't doing it. There isn't a reason for most people to give money to TPF. That could be differnt, but it isn't. I've never heard a person ask "I'd like to give TPF money, but I just don't know how". It's a non-problem.

        None of your ideas are new. I have the advantage of having run Perl Mongers, talking to a lot of lawyers, and dealing with other people running non-profits.

        If you really want to run TPF, I suggest you get involved at a lower, administrative side role and learn more about how charities work. I think you'll find that things aren't as simple as having ideas, and that there isn't a big horde of people waiting to give you money.
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