P3D informal vs formal club

["Richard M. Koolish" <koolish@xxxxxxx>]

Dr. T asks why Stereo New England doesn't become a formal organization, since
we do most of the same things that a formally organized club does.

We have actually had a couple of discussions about this topic, and the
consensus was that we wouldn't gain much.  Almost all of the people who keep
the club going are also members of PHSNE (Photographic Historical Society of
New England), which is a big and formally organized club, and some of us are or
have been board members of PHSNE, so we have direct experince with that kind of
organization.  If there were significant benefits to a formal organization, we
would see them.  So far, we don't.

If we collected yearly dues, then we would need to send out renewal notices and
keep membership records.  I've done that job for the local astronomy club and I
know how much work that is.  Our tradeoff is that we keep track of who comes to
meetings so we can drop people off the mailing list if they stop coming.
As long as we collect enough money to keep going, this isn't an issue.

If we were a state and federal tax exempt organization, then we could accept
charitable contributions, but this means incorporation, by-laws, elected
officers, tax forms, state forms, accountants, etc.  It doesn't seem worth it
at this point.  You really don't need any of that in order to have an active
organization.  We are so surrounded by organizations that do have formal
structure that we forget that it's the people and not the structure that make
it work.

The bottom line is that I see very little difference between our organization
and the clubs with elected officers.  There may even be benefits to our way of
doing things.  We tend to work more by group cooperation than by having a
president or committee chairperson tell us what to do.  The club is what the
members make of it.  If you want to help make a club work, you need motivation,
not a title.


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