NB: This post is written in my capacity as a citizen of CDS,and not as a member of the Chancelor's staff. I'll also disclose that i was an original donor to the Monastery project, and remain supportive of the people involved with it.
I think moving the monastery to a void is a great idea. Financially, however, I disagree with the proposal.
First, let's talk about the "linden lab" treatment of NGO's. While it is true that educational and charitable organizations qualify for discounted sim purchases and tiers, there are two major limitations attached to that. The first is that the NGO must be recognized as such by the laws of the country in which it is formed. To do so, at least theoretically, someone disinterested has made a determination that the group actually runs within the framework of a qualified non profit organization. That doesn't mean it has to be a "charity," but it does mean certain legal hoops have been jumped through to get that approval, and it's been approved by people with at least some expertise in the area. Generally it requires review of financial statements, missions, accountability of management, qualifications of membership, detailed rules for the handling of income,expenses and transfer of assets on any dissolution. And, at least in the United States,it includes implications concerning the application of certain tax provisions both for the organization and individual donating to it. (query: if CDS recognizes its NGO's as subsidized entities, and I, as an altruistic, civic minded citizen, make donations to certain NGO's (but not all) am i entitled to a deduction from my tier payments for those donations? Seems only fair...)
Second, LL requires all such recognized entities to pay tier at least six months in advance. (They may elect to pay on an annual basis as well) I can speculate on why this is, but you all can to. Would we mirror ALL the LL terms if we choose to subsidize?
I have worked with literally hundreds of non profit entities for many years, as member, fund-raiser, founder, volunteer, board member, officer, attorney... you name it. The most successful ones are the ones with organization, (including structure and adherence to internal rules), clear purpose, committed volunteers and a desire to self sustain.
IF the CDS wished to subsidize NGO's, i'd ask that we look at it from a general platform first, NOT considering whether we want to do it for this specific organization. Then anyone with altruistic intentions who may not have had the money to follow through can compete for what is ultimately a limited amount of funds. The monastery project grew from a desire to add to the Alpine Meadow sim... not from a proposal to CDS that we subsidize a group who is monastic. There really is a difference. LOTS of people have run educational, event oriented programs from their CDS property. No one ever expected to get a deal on their tier payments... but if we start now, with this monastery, I think we need to open application to all the others as well... before we say yes.
From the CDS point of view, I'd propose a three tiered system of support for NGO's, which would include:
A. A coordinated use of public prims..coordinated because they really do have to be shared. I hate thinking of taking down art exhibits to put up Oktoberfest activities, but we only have so many public prims... decisions have to be made and those decisions need to be fluid enough to adapt to the needs of the sim at any given point in time.
B. Specific grants for specific projects. An allocation of start up funds from our reserves seems appropriate. This could also take the form of interest free loans. Operating grants would be for specific times.. say one RA term, to assure that the mission and commitment to the project has not died away and we are subsidizing sentiment rather than project. I'd require the signature of no fewer than three avatars who would be responsible for achieving whatever goals such grants are provided for, and accounting back re the project before further grants would be given. That keeps the State out of running the organization, but also clearly shows our expectation that if CDS funds are expended, they will be spent on the things that we as a collective hold important, and recognizes that those things MAY change over time. It also keeps the proponents of a project engaged.
An outline of the programs to be presented, estimated costs, number of avatars "benefited".. might make up the basis of a 'grant" program. I'd MUCH rather see NGO"s come to the RA for specific financial requests than just impose what will amount to a "tax" on the rest of the citizens to support them with reduced tier. It is hard enough to "sell" land in SL these days. While some may only want more citizens "like" us, it doesn't create a very diverse community. What if someone is fundamentally opposed to the mission of the NGO ?
*edit* An issue we face often in RL that no one has mentioned here is the situation where services are duplicated. How does the mission of this NGO differ from that of others? if there is overlap, shouldn't they find ways to work together rather than in competition? Isn't that part of the point of CDS?
C. Use of CDS staff to support fund-raising and mission supportive events. We are terrible in CDS when it comes to assigning value to the time of our volunteers. If you had to hire event coordinators, builders, scripters, etc, every time someone volunteers that skill in CDS, there would be no reserve at all. So if we say, yes, we will support the fund-raising event of an NGO, whether it be by running an auction or setting up a donation box, we need to recognize that it is a valuable asset to that NGO, and it takes away from other projects that those CDS volunteers might otherwise participate in. Asking the event coordinators to assist in one fund-raising event per term per NGO seems fair, and one that i believe is supported by our current administration. If we get a lot of NGO's, maybe we need to look at increasing our support staff.
D. In very rare circumstances, reduction in tier for NGOs. I would suggest that if we do this, that we review the reduction on a case by case basis at regular intervals to assure that the NGO was meeting our standards of contribution to the quality of CDS life and had not just become another nice empty building in the CDS. I'd ask that it be a chartered NGO that had very specific requirements, including the escrow of six month's tier, review of the mission of the NGO, including how the citizens, present or potential, will go about attaining the mission. I'd want to know who would be members, and who is willing to pursue the mission with resources other than money.
Finally, we need to consider other options for such organizations to be part of CDS. I think CDS expansion should be adapted to include affiliation with sims without direct ownership of those sims. I think we should allow for a "local rule" option. This would allow both new and established communities to "join" CDS... all of which is truly outside the scope of this post, but my point is that then a specific NGO, such as the Monastery, could go directly to LL and get their designation, buy their own sim and attach or affiliate somehow with CDS as we all see fit.(this IS complicated by the rule that to buy a void, one must own a full sim. Perhaps we need a combination in our own structure.) It removes a complicated issue from CDS governance, allows the NGO to have its lowered tier, and allows CDS the opportunity to support with resources other than cash.
One last point. Last year CDS provided "seed money" for Events in the sims. The RA allocated 4000 Lindens per month for ALL events, and, in application, the stipends for investing time and money into the organization of things that brought people into our sims was limited to 400 L. The program was not particularly successful. With averages events running at about 5000L, it isnt' difficult to see why. I'd ask that our government recognize that we all have different interests, and that by providing reduced tiers to some, we are legislatively electing to financially favor one interest (such as the monastery) over other legitimate interests (such as live music.) Let's not be hasty with this, however much we like the Monastery.
Ah well, you can get used to anything I suppose! I doubt whether the Traders' Association, or a Chamber of Commerce, really needs a sim to itself though.
), but they will have the opportunity to use the Monastery for their projects or for projects of friends. The owner of these plots can be private persons, but why not RL entities, groups, NGO, ... I can imagine that owning a plot in the Monastery void sim does not confere the CDS citizenship. By doing that, I try to find new ideas to develop our community and its activities. I am opened to any feedback and ideas.