Briarpatch Dues and Donations
All About Briarpatch Membership
The Fifth & Sixth Laws of Money
These laws are part of The Seven Laws of Money, a set of basic principles that Briarpatch members tend to operate under. Go here if you want to learn more about The Seven Laws
Law 5. You can never really give money away.
(Seven Laws of Money, p. 113.)
Law 6. You can never really receive money as a gift.
(Seven Laws of Money, p. 147.)
Whether you give or receive, there are expectations about relationships, information flow, priorities, hoped-for outcomes, and so forth.
Any gift is a two-way street. (It’s only one-way in the short term.)
Most people agree that a “gift” is NOT a loan.
Many also understand that a “gift” CAN BE an investment?
The Fifth and Sixth laws are two sides of the same coin. They “mutually arise.” You need to think about them together to best understand how they work.
Gifts as Alliances
The best “gifts” are looked at as alliances.
The giver (donor, contributor, payer) and the receiver have values and goals in common. They enter into an agreement, formal or informal. Each has expectations and responsibilities. Implied or explicit, the giver will be there to provide emotional and technical support if asked by the receiver.
The receiver promises, explicit or implied,
- to meet one or more milestones
- to create one or more deliverables
- to keep the giver informed as the project proceeds
Implied or explicit, they also agree to review the project when it’s over or at important milestones along the way.
Do you Give to an Idea or a Person?
Gifts, Tithes, Dues in the Briarpatch
From the beginning, the Briarpatch has paid a coordinator to help lubricate communications, set up consulting sessions for member businesses, and facilitate other community activities and events.
This payment came mostly from donations or dues.
In the spirit of “open books,” a financial statement of sources and uses of funds is shared, at first through the Briarpatch Review and later through a printed newsletter, membership directory, or periodic paper letter.
You can see the very first such financial statement here.
You can see the most recent cash flow statement below:
Briarpatch Cash Flow Statement
For Year 2023
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Previous Balance |
140.57 USD |
| Inflows | |
| Donations |
40.00 USD |
| Dues |
400.00 USD |
| Total Inflows |
440.00 USD |
| Outflows | |
| Coordinator’s Salary |
0.00 USD |
| Utilities (including phone) |
120.00 USD |
| Email and Web Meetings |
60.00 USD |
| Website |
246.00 USD |
| Total Outflows |
426.00 USD |
| Ending Balance |
154.57 USD |
Click on one of these links to pay your dues online (uses PayPal).
The Coordinator's Promise to the Network
Whoever the network coordinator has been, they have agreed to a certain level of responsibility. This responsibility includes
- Being available and accountable to members
- Using a randomly selected group of members to make all “big” decisions
- Sharing periodic reports of sources and uses of funds in a way that is publically accessible
- Generally, to do their best on behalf of the community.
CLAUDE’S PROMISE TO THE NETWORK
Yep! I’m on board with that! Any questions?
You can always reach me using the contact page on this website.
Br’er Claude
Briarpatch Coordinator
Support Your Local Coordinator
It’s easy to make a donation or dues payment. You can even do it right now, today. Whatever amount you choose will cover 6 months. The range has been from $25 (that’s what they could afford) to $250 (they were really generous and/or happy with our advice or other experience). (Note: That would be from $80 to $800 in today’s dollars when adjusted for inflation.)
Remember
Dues are voluntary and you decide the amount.
Click on one of these links to pay your dues online (uses PayPal).
Incentives to Pay Dues
Paying dues can make you feel good because you’ve made a worthwhile contribution.
Dues-paying member incentives:
- Advanced notice of special events or workshops and webinars.
- Access to the membership directory.
- Free consultation sessions.
(Learn more about Briarpatch consulting sessions and how to prepare for them.)
P.S. Remember, Briarpatch is just a group of friends, not a company or a non-profit.
The History of Dues/Coordinator's Salary
Since the primary purpose for dues is to pay the coordinator a salary, for most of the Network’s history, donations were made directly to the coordinator, avoiding the time and money overhead of a group or club legal form.
Open books (sharing of financial reports – see report above) allow members to always know where their money is going.
The fact that your donation is not tax-deductible is balanced by the fact that the coordinator must pay taxes on any portion not deducted as a legitimate business expense in any given year. This incentivizes the coordinator to spend your dollars on legitimate business expenses. If you pick the right coordinator, such expenditures will benefit the community. If you pick the wrong coordinator, you can stop donating and/or replace the coordinator.
When cash flow from member dues is “flush” we may also use small amounts to create parties or educational events. Occasionally, we might also donate small amounts as “grants” to a Briarpatch project. For example, the Briarpatch paid postage and phone expenses to launch the Common Good School and it made a small contribution to the start-up funds for the Apprentice Alliance.