The folks behind Hacker Dojo existing have stellar reputations. I'm sure they will sort this out.
Hacker Dojo also has incubated the Hackers/Founders COOP which is also a solid organization.
Disarray at the Hacker Dojo
21–30 of 54 posts
Re: Disarray at the Hacker Dojo
#22Are there any other places similar to Hacker Dojo in the bay area?
Not off the top of my head in Santa Clara County.
Re: Disarray at the Hacker Dojo
#23What a mess. I knew Hacker Dojo was having problems, but didn't know the details. I was a member for a while a few years ago, at the previous location, but just to take classes. It's mostly a co-working space now. As of a year ago, people sat silently at laptops under harsh industrial lighting, coding apps into the night. Now that the get-rich-quick app boom is over, not sure what's going on there. $199 per month is…
Its too bad, the current location (I keep wanting to say new) has lots and lots of room for all that stuff if they wanted to have it.
Depending on where you are and mode of transportation, the current location near Moffatt is... non-ideal.
I only remember the prior location as a member for a couple of years (while working near by).
Re: Disarray at the Hacker Dojo
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its too bad, the current location (I keep wanting to say new) has lots and lots of room for all that stuff if they wanted to have it.
Depending on where you are and mode of transportation, the current location near Moffatt is... non-ideal. I only remember the prior location as a member for a couple of years (while working near by).
At least the current location is close to light rail (closer than the prior location).
Re: Disarray at the Hacker Dojo
#25Fraud is fraud. Happens in non- prof is too. Sometimes more because people assume honorable intentions and the pay is less. Shame to lose the space.
Re: Disarray at the Hacker Dojo
#26Fraud is fraud. Happens in non- prof is too. Sometimes more because people assume honorable intentions and the pay is less. Shame to lose the space.
Re: Disarray at the Hacker Dojo
#27Wow. Marie Knox, the woman that has already admitted to stealing the money, has her hands in a lot of different organizations in the Bay Area. She was the cashier, website manager, and person responsible for ordering inventory at her last position. Sure hope her past employers/nonprofits are all checking their books closely now.. Good on Sudarshana Banerjee, who took her board responsibilities seriously and uncovered…
Or maybe this is a failure of the non-profit system: these charities are not required to make their finances transparent by the government or their funders
for-profit entities are also not required to make their finances transparent to anyone until they reach certain milestones (for large private companies, shareholder count. Alternatively, going public).
The financial filing rules for 501(c)(3)'s (I have no idea if that's what HJ is) are substantially more rigorous than for C or sub-S corps w/ small number of shareholders.
Re: Disarray at the Hacker Dojo
#28Are there any other places similar to Hacker Dojo in the bay area?
I know of a few. There are likely several that I don't know about:
Noisebridge in SF https://noisebridge.net
TechShop in SF, SJ, and several other non-Bay Area locations http://www.techshop.ws/
Ace Monster Toys in Oakland http://acemonstertoys.org/
Sudo Room in Oakland https://sudoroom.org/
Re: Disarray at the Hacker Dojo
#29It's pretty clear that Hacker Dojo isn't the strictest about accounting. Just look at their membership fee -- $100 / month, pay if you want. That said, Hacker Dojo doesn't work because recurring revenue > expenses. They work because of the tremendous goodwill they've built up in the community and a devoted base of supporters who are willing to help. Organizational controls should be aimed to strengthen that support -…
The goodwill was a huge part of why I continue to pay the membership despite hardly ever going. Finding out my dues were embezzled have certainly soured my opinion. I think transparency is more important than formalization.
Keeping it informal and keeping it transparent aren't even related in my opinion. You can keep goodwill payments while being transparent about how the payments are being used.
Re: Disarray at the Hacker Dojo
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or maybe this is a failure of the non-profit system: these charities are not required to make their finances transparent by the government or their funders
for-profit entities are also not required to make their finances transparent to anyone until they reach certain milestones (for large private companies, shareholder count. Alternatively, going public). The financial filing rules for 501(c)(3)'s (I have no idea if that's what HJ is) are substantially more rigorous than for C or sub-S corps w/ small number of shareholders.
> Hacker Dojo is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.