Efforts have been made before, but not completed, to make GNHLUG a registered organization with non-profit status. This is noted not to condemn earlier attempts, but to help us understand the challenges previous volunteers faced, and to understand the difficulty of the task. "Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it." Previous similar meetings included: MeetingAgenda24May2003, MeetingAgenda05Feb2004, and MeetingMinutes05Feb2004. Discussions include WhatDoWeWantToBe, etc.

At the SummerSummit2005, MadDog explained some of the differences between 501(c)3 and 501(c)6. At that meeting, we agreed that our goal as GNHLUG to be an inclusive organization that provides the infrastructure for volunteers to perform volunteer activities including community service, advocacy and educational projects around Free and Open Source Software while allowing free membership and encouraging fraternal social networking, too. Establishment of the organization should not infringe on others enjoyment of the current meetings.

Links outside this wiki for reference:

• State of New Hampshire RSA
• IRS Guides for Non-Profits PDFs
• New Hampshire Secretary of State Office Non-Profit Forms
• Linux Mark Institute

• Most legal forms of organization will require some form of structure with by-laws. A quick Google yields:
• Kalamazoo LUG by-laws in PDF format - likely not what we want, as they require dues for privileges such as email archive access, but these can serve as a starting point for discussions.
• Pensacola has their bylaws on their forum at http://pcolalug.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=40
• Orlando has their "indefinitely tabled" bylaws at http://www.golug.org/bylaws.html and a cautionary tale of (too?) Many LUGS at http://www.golug.org/manylugs.html

-- TedRoche - 26 Aug 2005