Ithaca e-Conference
Postings are archived at the IthacaConference Google GroupWeek Four (March 8 - March 14): Organization
Does the world need yet another non-profit dedicated to animal welfare? I believe it does, for three reasons.
First, we need regional and national associations in order to facilitate the efforts of local groups, providing advice to newbies, and lending the weight of our collective experience to their arguments and proposals.
Second, an umbrella association representing hundreds of thousands of dog owners could undertake projects and produce results that are beyond the capabilities of smaller groups.
Third, unlike other animal groups dedicated to animal welfare, ours would be dedicated first and foremost to the needs of people -- people who like dogs, and who want their communities to be more dog-friendly. Of course, there is an overlap in these two missions, but there is also a significant disparity.
Assuming we agree that it would be a good thing to found a new organization, here is a laundry list of questions that we need to consider.
- What are our objectives?
- What is our mission statement?
- Who should join the organization?
- If we are to incorporate as a non-profit, does it matter in which state the papers are filed?
- Where would we hold meetings, and how often?
- What is the appropriate leadership structure?
- Will there be paid positions?
- If not, how will we avoid volunteer burn-out?
- What funding will be necessary at the outset?
- How will start-up money be raised?
- What (if any) dues should be paid by members?
- How far can we expect to get in setting up this organization by the end of our conference, and how will we complete the work afterwards?
