Funding

Pledges

Members should start a pledge and gather supporters before presenting their project, to demonstrate interest and commitment. They make sure that a sufficient number of people commit to the selected device (and keep it from collecting dust).

Levels of financing

There are 3 levels of asking for finances:

• If the cost is below 50€ just buy the stuff and hand in the bill. Don't abuse that rule by making small purchases, you risk not being refunded.
• If the cost is below 500€ (that value is experimental and could change), you should submit your project to the office first. The office can take the decision for syn2cat to finance the project, or consult the bootstrap assembly as if the project's costs were above 500€.
• Projects above 500 € are funded based on the bootstrap assembly's decision. During the meeting, the project is presented and debated, and the current pledging are discussed.

The final decision is taken 3 days later via an online poll using our votex tool. People get presented with a short description of the project and its cost, a link to the pledge system, short information on what free funds the association has, and 3 choices:

[ ] Do not fund at all [ ] Fund any amount remaining after the pledge [ ] Require at least 42% to be pledged; fund at most 58%

Majority of all supplied votes counts, thus if of 40 people, 3 vote against and 5 vote for funding, the funding proposition wins 5:3. If the result vote is "fund" then syn2cat will cover the rest of the cost. If the result is "pledge" then the normal rule applies that 42% need to be pledged before syn2cat funds the remaining cost.

Resubmission of a project that's been rejected or withdrawn is allowed if it has changed significantly (less expensive, more appealing, more pledges, etc.). This is to prevent zombie projects from returning every month.

If the association clearly cannot afford a project, the office may reject it based on a founded argument.

The office may also refuse the pledge and fully fund the project if it is thought of as useful, important or strategic for syn2cat as a whole. The general idea is that the more investments are related to infrastructure and guaranteed to be made good use of, the less pledge would be needed.