December 2009 State Of The Geek / Appeal Letter

Friends & fellow geeks,

There are three words during the holiday season sure to instil guilt, dread, and anxiety when and where ever they are said -- for the Americorps VISTA and Joe the plumber alike. Those three words: "Annual appeal letter."

FreeGeek/Chicago, like everyone else trying to do something decent, needs more money than we make, and more donations than we receive. So we'd like to tell you a brief version of the story of 2009, and mention places where we need help going forward. We hope that now or later, if you have resources that can help FreeGeek and you care about our mission, you will share them with us. We don't just need money and computers -- we also need people's critical intelligence, their unique skills, and their participation.

In 2009, FreeGeek/Chicago? took significant steps in terms of its growth as an organization and community. Due to the hard work of Howard Fosdick, we obtained our 501(c)3 and are now a full fledged non-profit organization. Revenues from sales now reliably cover costs for our space and general operations (thought not recycling).

Our space has improved: We now have a fully functioning bathroom and a real heating system (to be turned on the next few weeks). Many volunteers have contributed to improving the organization of the space -- we've managed to clean up our laptop room, sort out our monitors. Staying organized with growing numbers of volunteers and sales remains a challenge, and we appreciate anything that can help us better manage our space and processes.

We also took strides in terms of governance...