Project Awesome Rules

These rules were approved and incorporated into the HacDC Standing Rules at the 11 Sept 2012 Member Meeting.

Here are the details of 'Project Awesome', a proposed project dividend system for HacDC. Approving this proposal effectively incorporates these rules into the HacDC Standing Rules which govern our organization.

The main idea is, each month we split some affordable amount of money among member-proposed projects according to membership vote.

Projects should be considered in the most general sense of how HacDC's funds should be spent, and can include ideas like refunding dues or funding student membership discounts.

Any member can propose a project by sending the HacDC:Members mailing list the project codename (a single word) and description, the name of the proposed project contact (who must be a HacDC member as well), and a link to the project web page or wiki (if available). The project contact will be the go-to member for status updates and spending decisions. They don't have to do all the work, but they must consent to being the contact.

Projects meeting the criteria will be added to the list of active projects on the Project Awesome wiki and to the voting system. Each member can then vote to support their desired active projects, and change their vote as often as desired. The details of the voting system may change, but it should insure that each member gets equal weighting for the project or projects they wish to support. The member-votes (or fractions thereof) cast for each project shall be counted as of the last day of the month.

After the end of each month, the Treasurer will declare a "project dividend" amount based on the month's cash accounting. The amount should be chosen making sure that adequate funds remain for current and anticipated future expenses. Months may have zero dividend if funds are not available to support one, and HacDC's reserve funds shall not be used for project dividends.

The dividend amount will be split among the active projects proportional to the member votes each has received. The Treasurer will track project votes, balances and spending, and report on them at the monthly members meetings. Any additional donations received for specific projects will accounted for and reported in the same totals.

The project contact would have spending authority up to an amount of $250 without prior approval. Larger expenditures would still need approval of a quorum of members. Anything purchased using HacDC funding remains the property of HacDC unless members vote otherwise. Purchases should be made with the HacDC debit card when possible, otherwise receipts must be saved and submitted to the Treasurer to receive reimbursement. Reimbursements shall not be given in excess of the available project balance, and so may be delayed until adequate earmarked funds are available. Reimbursements should be paid by check or Dwolla transfer to reduce transaction fees.

To encourage progress, each active project should submit a status report at the monthly member meeting - at minimum just a sentence about any progress or obstacles. Projects will be suspended (no additional money) if status is not filed for two months, and projects will be cancelled (unspent money returned) if no status is given for three months in a row. The project contact is responsible for doing or arranging for the status updates, and shall be the one notified if the project status is changed.

Project contacts may be changed with the approval of the old and new contacts. If a project contact becomes unreachable, a new member may be appointed with the approval of the HacDC BoD. If a project contact is using project funds inappropriately or outside of the scope of the project description, the HacDC BoD may vote to deny a reimbursement request or appoint a new contact person. If a project is terminated, the project balance returns to the HacDC general fund unless another project with similar goals is available, as approved by the HacDC BoD. Actions done by the HacDC board shall require approval of at least two thirds of the Directors.

The money earmarked for projects may be used to pay rent or meet other required HacDC corporate expenses if there are no other funds available. However this would only be done in dire financial situations which should be avoidable by proper planning. In such cases (as determined by the HacDC BoD), equal fractions of the earmarked funds of all projects shall be used.