[draft] Guidelines for Equipment and Service Donations

Here's a resolution I'm working on to address concerns about who has
control of what equipment etc. Please comment on this, and feel free to
propose additions, changes, etc. I would like this resolution to address
all relevant issues that may come up with donations or loans of equipment
and services, but also want to keep the resolution general.

Nils.

---------------------------------------------------------------
-Proposed Draft- Resolution 1999.03.03.nl
Guidelines for Equipment and Service Donations
---------------------------------------------------------------

General Guidelines for Donations
--------------------------------

- All equipment and services donated to SPI or any of its affiliated
projects must be used in compliance with any and all applicable laws

- All equipment will be used to further the goals of SPI and its
affiliated projects, and will be used in accordance with all SPI rules and
regulations.

- The criteria for differentiating between donated and loaned equipment
shall be whether or not a transfer of ownership from the donor to SPI has
taken place.

Equipment Guidelines
--------------------

- Donations of equipment can be marked for a specific project, or for SPI
in general. The latter is preferred as it allows SPI more flexibility in
the usage of equipment.

- Equipment can be donated for a specific purpose. SPI will make every
attempt to use it for the specified purpose, but may at its discretion
(and the discretion of the project that it was earmarked for, if
applicable) change its use if this is deemed necessary.

- Equipment that is on loan to SPI or an affiliated project will be
considered a service, and will be used under the service guidelines.

Service Guidelines
------------------

- Any restrictions on donations or their usage must be stated at the time
of donation.

- If the donor wishes to change the conditions under which the service is
donated or withdraw the service, he must inform SPI (and the project that
the service is donated to, if applicable) 15 days in advance.

- If SPI (or the project that the service is donated to, if applicable)
wishes to change the usage of the service, or use the service in a manner
contrary to that initially specified, they must inform the provider of the
service 15 days in advance.

--
Nils Lohner Software in the Public Interest, Inc.
E-Mail: lohner(at)spi-inc(dot)org PO Box 1326
Board Of Directors <board(at)spi-inc(dot)org> Boston, Ma. 02117 USA

This is a good start but fails to address some of the fundamental issues.

The language about donated -vs- loaned equipment is useful but is somewhat
a given considering the default laws surrounding bill of sale and transfer
of ownership.

I think one of the most important issues is what "donated for SPI usage"
entails. I would think something along these lines would be useful:

- Services and equipment which are donated to SPI for general use will
be utilized only for projects which are officially affiliated with SPI.
Any special utilization of donated services or equipment for projects
that are not officially affiliated will be subject to the permission
of the donor and the rules spelled out in the "Support in Temporary,
Emergency or Other Unusual Circumstances" section.

The "Support in Temporary, Emergency or Other Unusual Circumstances"
section should specify clearly the situations which warrant the use
of SPI resources outside the typical project support guidelines and
the reasons that warrant such utilization. The key being that SPI
"support" should typically be going to officially supported projects.
I can see that there should be policy for facilitating responsiveness
in quick-turn situations such as the LDP issue but these situations
should be the exception and not the rule. It should also be insured
that projects are not allowed to remain in this limbo state and are
moved into an officially supported position or are removed.

I can try to work on a clearer Temporary / Emergency section. Perhaps
we should set up CVS to manage these documents? Does that seem
useful?

On Wed, Mar 03, 1999 at 10:24:21AM -0500, Nils Lohner wrote:
> Here's a resolution I'm working on to address concerns about who has
> control of what equipment etc. Please comment on this, and feel free to
> propose additions, changes, etc. I would like this resolution to address
> all relevant issues that may come up with donations or loans of equipment
> and services, but also want to keep the resolution general.
>
> Nils.
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> -Proposed Draft- Resolution 1999.03.03.nl
> Guidelines for Equipment and Service Donations
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> General Guidelines for Donations
> --------------------------------
>
> - All equipment and services donated to SPI or any of its affiliated
> projects must be used in compliance with any and all applicable laws
>
> - All equipment will be used to further the goals of SPI and its
> affiliated projects, and will be used in accordance with all SPI rules and
> regulations.
>
> - The criteria for differentiating between donated and loaned equipment
> shall be whether or not a transfer of ownership from the donor to SPI has
> taken place.
>
>
> Equipment Guidelines
> --------------------
>
> - Donations of equipment can be marked for a specific project, or for SPI
> in general. The latter is preferred as it allows SPI more flexibility in
> the usage of equipment.
>
> - Equipment can be donated for a specific purpose. SPI will make every
> attempt to use it for the specified purpose, but may at its discretion
> (and the discretion of the project that it was earmarked for, if
> applicable) change its use if this is deemed necessary.
>
> - Equipment that is on loan to SPI or an affiliated project will be
> considered a service, and will be used under the service guidelines.
>
>
> Service Guidelines
> ------------------
>
> - Any restrictions on donations or their usage must be stated at the time
> of donation.
>
> - If the donor wishes to change the conditions under which the service is
> donated or withdraw the service, he must inform SPI (and the project that
> the service is donated to, if applicable) 15 days in advance.
>
> - If SPI (or the project that the service is donated to, if applicable)
> wishes to change the usage of the service, or use the service in a manner
> contrary to that initially specified, they must inform the provider of the
> service 15 days in advance.

--
___________________________________________________________________
Ean Schuessler An oderless programmer work-a-like
Novare International Inc. Silent and motionless
--- Some or all of the above signature may be a joke

(I'm not going to repeat what Ean already said on this)

Previously Nils Lohner wrote:
> - Equipment can be donated for a specific purpose. SPI will make every
> attempt to use it for the specified purpose, but may at its discretion
> (and the discretion of the project that it was earmarked for, if
> applicable) change its use if this is deemed necessary.

Doesn't this make earmarking kind of pointless? There should be a
restriction in here.

Wichert.

--
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