[RAGG] RAGG & the IMC's financial crisis:

[faith swords]

hey y'all,

at the outreach meeting tonight, we had a long talk about the financial
situation at the IMC. i'm not sure how much RAGG folks know about what's
going on, but the IMC is losing _a lot_ of money through monthly expenses.

basically, the way things had been working was this: when we had a
performance space, the shows group was bringing in between $500-700 per
month. that money went a long way towards monthly expenses (the rent,
bills, etc). since the space has been closed (almost a year and a half
now), we have been trying to make up for that sudden loss of income. we
have stepped up work on memberships, and have been requesting additional
donations from those who can donate. we're doing a biiiiig letter
writing/phone call campaign at the end of the month to basically appeal
for emergency funding from the community.

the outreach group has come up with a tentative call to action (of sorts)
for the working groups of the IMC. as we see it, the problem is not that
we aren't raising money, but that each working group is doing fundraising
for itself and only itself. there isn't anyone doing general fundraising.
if this trend continues, we could very easily see all the working groups
of the IMC with a bunch of money in their respective accounts but no space
to meet in because there is no general funding to pay the rent on our
space. i would REALLY hate to see that happen, and i'm sure everyone else
would also hate to see it happen.

but it is a possibility at this point.

the finance group is currently working really hard to figure out where
exactly we stand income/expense-wise. we should know more by the steering
group meeting tomorrow night at 8 p.m.

i strongly encourage everyone from RAGG to attend who can do so. we will
be discussing how each working group can use their specific skills and
focus areas to help the IMC raise money. zoe s, as RAGG spoke, you REALLY
need to be there, but it would be great if other RAGG folks could come as
well.

if anyone also wants to discuss this issue further on-list, send emails to
the general imc list (imc at ucimc.org) and cc the finance group
(finance at ucimc.org).

thanks in advance for your help. i hope to see everyone tomorrow!

--faith

p.s. -- again, steering group meets tomorrow (thursday, 8/5) at 8 p.m.