LexRides

mcrib · townie Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 232 Location: 40502

I was thinking the other day the perhaps we should entertain the idea of starting a lexrides fund. We could use part of the entry money from some of the races to increase the fund. that money could be used to either support causes dear to us or perhaps to create posters and other other forms of propaganda to further the bike cause in Lexington.

It think the scary part would be putting someone in charge of this money.

Just a thought.
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Albert Einstein trembled when he found out time was water. Seeping through the rafters to put out this burning world.

brokebike · cutter Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 2434 Location: local

I think it's a great idea, and this is something we've tossed around in the past, but just didn't know how far to take the notion. Like, should we just entrust someone with money, or should we open up a small bank account?

There's always stuff that the money can go towards. Like this site, for instance. We pretty much split the responsibilities 3 ways with the creation of this site, and I'm sure those involved in out-of-pocket expenses would appreciate a small compensation for their efforts.

I took a small portion of the money collected from the Halloween Alleycat from last year and purchased the Lexrides stickers that you've seen passed out at a few races. That was, of course, after I purchased the official Lexrides 40ft. yacht.

chadwick2wheels · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 12:44 pm Post subject:

Sounds good to me. Especially if we can get some more Lexrides swag like the stickers and Koozies. Maybe even tshirts...I dont think that anyone in our community would run off with the money. Besides its not like we'd have a hard time finding them.
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politicalhero · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 1:19 pm Post subject:

I think it is a great idea and one that is needed. I know I don't put on races or events to make any money so I have donated the extra money in the past to different organizations (Home At Last and Shifting Gears). However for the Holiday Parade I paid a good amount of money out of my pocket to pay the entry fee.

I think it this is stuff that gets into a lot of organizational details that none of us want to be bogged down with (hence why we have created the community we have).

I have tried to open accounts in the past but you have to have it in a person's name if we are not actually a business, that would require having a treasurer person...blah blah blah.

I think it is a good idea and maybe we can have some type of agreement among folks who put on events to put the extra money into a pot. Naturally, if someone wants to pocket the money for their "troubles" putting an event together then that I guess if fine, but really does not stick to the idea of community.

As far as swag goes, I think this is a perfect idea. With the koozies we made, I had to upfront the $100 for the materials, Cricket Press donated their time and then we had to make sure we sold enough to make the money back. I am happy to donate some money but I know we all have less money then we need already.

Just random thoughts

mcrib · townie Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 232 Location: 40502

I think that this idea was generated out of guilt because there are a few individuals who commit serious time and money to make all this stuff what it is. I am guilty of not doing my share. But I think this would be opportunity to not only recoup losses but to throw some money at the problems facing us as cyclist in flexington.

What I am really hinting at is buying off public officials and hiring lobbyist.
_________________
Albert Einstein trembled when he found out time was water. Seeping through the rafters to put out this burning world.

jkizzle · cutter Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 519 Location: I.L.L.

im all about buying politicians and hiring lobbyist. everyone should buy powerball tickets... 179 millzo

what is needed is a paypal account to send some bling to. when and if i ever actually find a job, id be more than happy to shoot ten or 20 bucks to brokebike or catamount or whoever foots the bill here.

elzie5000 · cutter Joined: 25 Oct 2007 Posts: 1177

Whatever the mechanism, be it a bank account or a sock under someone's mattress, it would be good to have a small fund for merch upfront costs and parade entry fees. Paypal is kind of silly since we all live in the same city.

Speaking of parades, if we want to do the 4th of July parade, entry deadline is June 11th. NPOs pay $25, regular entries are $50, as long as we have under 50 people. If we convince them we're a band it is free.

A picture of last year's bike entry is on the parade form page:
http://www.lfucg.com/fourth_of_july/parade.asp

Edit: How much would it be to rent a bouncy castle for an afterparty?

brokebike · cutter Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 2434 Location: local

the thing with PayPal is, unless it is tied to an actual bank account, you can only accept money and spend it via PayPal channels... the funds exist in that "limbo" world of internet banking.

Unless I'm completely wrong... I'm not sure how we could do all that we would want to do with just a PayPal account.

And with a bank account, I would feel uncomfortable with that because having an account leads to the possibility of sometime down the road, having to account for that money (IRS)... however remote that may be, it would rest on the shoulders of the person with the account. Personally, I think it would just be best to trust someone to be the holder of the cash and have everything on the down-low.

Plus, I'd like to refrain from becoming some sort of "cycling club-like" entity for as long as possible. I'd hate for us to have to start dealing with any bullshit inner politics or power trips that go along with formal structure.

you can be organized as hell and still not have "structure" - as foreign as that might sound to most folks...

david · hipster Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 65

A fund for expenses and entry fees sounds like a good idea. A sock full of cash might be sufficient. For liability concerns, unstructured is good. No identified president or board.

chadwick2wheels · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 7:45 pm Post subject:

We need to post something about more people helping out. I'm not saying we should make people help throw alleycats but alot of times alleycats arent heard about until they are complete. I think if someone is putting something together and can let people know that the opportunity to pitch in is there...then more people would. Maybe at the next race we pass around "an offering plate" and people can donate cash, change, buttons, or whatever else is in their pockets. Or the people doing the registration just simply ask the racer if they'd like to donate an extra dollar. If 90 people show up for a race...that's like...86 dollars or something.
_________________
The sound of a car door opening in front of you is similar to the sound of a gun being cocked. ~Amy Webster

jkizzle · cutter Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 519 Location: I.L.L.

brokebike, you are right, there needs to be as little of a paper trail as possible. that said, whoever is in charge, be sure to holla at cha boyz if some cash need be dug up.