Newsletter:20070526/James
From EcoReality
Contents |
Membership FAQ
How do I become a member?
The first step in becoming a member of EcoReality is to join the Advisory Council and come to the farm and observe member’s meetings, participate in workshops and interact with the group.
The next step is to fill out the membership application. After the application is approved by the members, the applicant will become a provisional member for a period of six months. While a person is a provisional member, they can participate in all meetings and activities on the farm but they do not have veto rights. Once the provisional membership period has passed, the person becomes a full member and is granted decision making rights and equal status to all other members.
How are decisions made?
We use consensus to make decisions. This requires each member to be familiar with the process and for the group to maintain their skills by attending workshops and working with outside facilitators.
What is the time requirement?
Currently the members have meetings once a month on the farm (typically the first Saturday of the month). There are also short weekly video conferences. Each member is required to work 12 hours per month on co-op business, or pay $15 per hour in lieu of hours worked (if they do not work the full 12 hours).
Budgets and money
Currently EcoReality owns the property outright at 160 Sharp Road. Members were sold shares in the co-op in order to purchase the land.
The rough model we are working with for the future is that every member party (one person or a family living under the same roof) will be required to buy 100,000 shares in the co-op (at $1.00 per share) and will also be required to finance the building of their dwelling (approximately $20,000 $50,000).
Our goal is to create the opportunity for a limited number of members to apply with less than $100,000 and borrow the balance from the co-op with minimal interest and a payment plan. In order to achieve this goal, the co-op will require some members to buy more than 100,000 shares in order to subsidize the members who are borrowing from the co-op. These amounts may change based on how many members there are (and how many the land can support), how much the land purchase is, how much development is required for the land, and how many dwellings are already existing.
Currently there is a membership assessment of $25 per person per month which goes towards co-op operations expenses (insurance, postage etc.)
Share types
EcoReality currently has two share types:
- Class A investment shares are what a member buys when they buy in to the co-op or when a member funds a capitol improvement project. These shares are bought and sold for $1 each. There is no limit to how many shares a member can have in the co-op. The co-op must spend the money raised from Class A shares on capital improvements (including capital purchases). Money for operations must be raised separately.
- Class B investment shares are issued to a member when they “donate” an item to the co-op. These shares depreciate over time, similar to the rate of depreciation for physical objects.
See Coop rules/4 Share Structure for detailed information.
Timeline
The long term goal at this time is to purchase a large piece of property that has enough housing densities (based on zoning) to support 10-20 families. When this purchase happens depends on when more members join the co-op and the co-op can raise the money to make the purchase. Ideally the purchase is made privately, without a realtor from owners who support the project and want to see their land used sustainably and partially placed under covenants.
Precedence
This FAQ is for informal purposes, and is not authoritative. Should this FAQ conflict with the coop rules or any recorded decision or any agreement at a meeting, the latter takes precedence.
Have a question that is not on the list? Feel free to contact us.
