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gallery house in palo alto has an interesting model - membership comes with a volunteering requirement - it can't obviously reach the level of NY MOMA but it wo

gallery house in palo alto has an interesting model - membership comes with a volunteering requirement - it can't obviously reach the level of NY MOMA but it works well for Palo Alto and is a nice little gallery that has launched quite a few careers.

Hendrikto 8y ago
> volunteering requirement Isn’t that an oxymoron?
- maehwasu 8y ago
  Read as: "free work requirement"
  - jrochkind1 8y ago
    Not "free work" either. As payment for your membership, a work trade in return for the benefits of membership. Consumer cooperatives (which are actually legally _owned_ by their members, via member shares in the coop corporation) have been doing this forever. Like the famous (both loved and hated) Park Slope Food Coop [grocery store]. The Park Slope Coop simply calls it a "work requirement", and it is "2 hours and 45 minutes once every four weeks." The Park Slop coop is famous for crazy internal politics, so a work requirement is definitely no magic bullet against such. The Park Slope Coop is also loved by many though.
- imglorp 8y ago
  Another way to think about it is sweat equity. Habitat for Humanity is a great model here. In the HUD model, you hand out housing to poor people. Sometimes they take care of it and prosper, but usually not. Places get trashed, fixtures and copper ripped from the walls, and that's the end. You get "the projects." In the HFH model, recipients must have jobs, references, and commitment. They get ongoing support from HFH and the community, who come to help build their house. The recipients actually buy the houses with low-rate mortgages, plus they need to put in some sweat equity with HFH either working on their house or someone else's, or on a committee like fund raising. The result is a homeowner who takes pride in their house, who has the connections and support of their neighbors, and who is more likely to elevate the community, including neighbors who didn't qualify for HFH. There are some lessons here for a community space.
  - DonHopkins 8y ago
    Wow, so Jimmy Carter really is one of the richest people in the world, if you count Habitat for Humanity sweat equity.
- shriphani 8y ago
  more like skin in the game maybe?

Hendrikto 8y ago

> volunteering requirement Isn’t that an oxymoron?

maehwasu 8y ago
Read as: "free work requirement"
- jrochkind1 8y ago
  Not "free work" either. As payment for your membership, a work trade in return for the benefits of membership. Consumer cooperatives (which are actually legally _owned_ by their members, via member shares in the coop corporation) have been doing this forever. Like the famous (both loved and hated) Park Slope Food Coop [grocery store]. The Park Slope Coop simply calls it a "work requirement", and it is "2 hours and 45 minutes once every four weeks." The Park Slop coop is famous for crazy internal politics, so a work requirement is definitely no magic bullet against such. The Park Slope Coop is also loved by many though.
imglorp 8y ago
Another way to think about it is sweat equity. Habitat for Humanity is a great model here. In the HUD model, you hand out housing to poor people. Sometimes they take care of it and prosper, but usually not. Places get trashed, fixtures and copper ripped from the walls, and that's the end. You get "the projects." In the HFH model, recipients must have jobs, references, and commitment. They get ongoing support from HFH and the community, who come to help build their house. The recipients actually buy the houses with low-rate mortgages, plus they need to put in some sweat equity with HFH either working on their house or someone else's, or on a committee like fund raising. The result is a homeowner who takes pride in their house, who has the connections and support of their neighbors, and who is more likely to elevate the community, including neighbors who didn't qualify for HFH. There are some lessons here for a community space.
- DonHopkins 8y ago
  Wow, so Jimmy Carter really is one of the richest people in the world, if you count Habitat for Humanity sweat equity.
shriphani 8y ago
more like skin in the game maybe?