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<This table> <tr> <td>Option</td> <td>Cost required to implement</td> <td>Other costs/ recurring costs?</td> <td>Any required changes to Code4Lib conference- planning process?</td> <td>Any required changes to Code4Lib organizational structure?</td> <td>Does this provide ongoing gives only a broad comparison of the options. For fuller details on the points summarized below, please see the individual sections for each of the potential fiscal host for Code4Lib conference?</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Fiscal sponsorshipsponsors: LITA/ALA</td> <td>26.4% of gross revenue</td> <td></td> <td>Coordination with LITA/ALA</td> <td>Primary conference organizers would need to hold LITA membership; would need process to identify primary contact to LITA/ALA</td> <td>yes</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Fiscal sponsorship: CLIR/DLF</td> <td>$5,000 / year</td> <td>$5,000 / year to Code4Lib nest egg account</td> <td>CLIR/DLF would not require changes; Code4Lib would need to continue hiring conference mgmt services. CLIR/DLF recommends event insurance.</td> <td>Would need process to identify primary contact to CLIR/DLF</td> <td>yes</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Code4Lib forms NPO</td> <td>$2,000 to $8OLF,000 to form</td> <td>$1and DuraSpace,000 to $2and the sections presenting the requirements involved in forming a non-profit organization option,000 in filing fees</td> <td>Potential need to secure legal services to review contracts.</td> <td>Election of the board (or setting up board to include all Code4Lib members) and election of officers</td> <td>yes</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Maintain as well as maintaining status quo</td> <td>0</td> <td>Ongoing liability burdens on host institutions</td> <td>no</td> <td>no</td> <td>no</td> </tr></table>.
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Code4Lib Fiscal Continuity Interest Group Report
23 January 2017, updated on 25 August 19 September 2017
== A. Executive Summary ==
2. LITA/ALA
===== Proposed Terms for Fiscal Sponsorship , LITA/ALA =====
The Library Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is willing to serve as a fiscal agent for the Code4Lib conference on either a short-term or long-term basis. There are two models under which this could happen:
4. CLIR/DLF
===== Proposed Terms for Fiscal Sponsorship , CLIR/DLF =====
The Council on Library and Information Resources, the parent organization of the Digital Library Federation, has also offered possible terms for providing ongoing fiscal sponsorship for Code4Lib. The terms outlined below were discussed via email and phone conversations with Bethany Nowviskie, Director, DLF, and Sharon Ivy Weiss, Chief Operating Officer, CLIR, between October-December 2016. In these conversations, the FCIG provided via email an adaptation of the list of questions Coral prepared for potential sponsors (as discussed with LITA/ALA, outlined above). Quotations below are taken from emails written by Bethany Nowviskie in response to these questions, and are used with her permission.
=== Table: Summary of Options ===
{|
!Option
!Cost required to implement
!Other costs/ recurring costs?
!Any required changes to Code4Lib conference- planning process?
!Any required changes to Code4Lib organizational structure?
!Does this provide ongoing fiscal host for Code4Lib conference?
|-
|Fiscal sponsorship: LITA/ALA
|26.4% of gross revenue
|
|Coordination with LITA/ALA
|Primary conference organizers would need to hold LITA membership; would need process to identify primary contact to LITA/ALA
|yes
|-
|Fiscal sponsorship: CLIR/DLF
|$5,000 / year
|$5,000 / year to Code4Lib nest egg account
|CLIR/DLF would not require changes; Code4Lib would need to continue hiring conference mgmt services. CLIR/DLF recommends event insurance.
|No change to current C4L culture would be necessary. CLIR/DLF is fine with C4L’s current practice of local organizing committees and rotating leadership for the conference and other activities. CLIR/DLF requests only that C4L would identify current points of contact for each activity such as conference, listserv, website, etc.
|yes
|-
|Fiscal sponsorship: Open Library Federation
|To be determined, in coordination with OLF
|Needs to be determined: whether OLF or C4L would cover event insurance cost annually
|OLF did not specify any required changes to the conference planning process
|OLF requires member communities to have explicit governance that is documented in a charter or similar instrument
|yes
|-
|Fiscal sponsorship: DuraSpace
|$7,000 / year
|DuraSpace recommends C4L create & maintain a reserve account of $75Kto cover at minimum half of the cost of potential conference failure, and to purchase event insurance for annual conference
|DuraSpace would not require changes, but strongly recommends C4L obtain event insurance for annual conference
|DuraSpace requests C4L identify leadership with authorization: to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and to spend C4L funds; also expects C4L to report expenses and revenues annually
|yes, with qualification regarding shared coverage of potential conference failure
|-
|Code4Lib forms NPO
|$2,000 to $8,000 to form
|$1,000 to $2,000 in filing fees
|Potential need to secure legal services to review contracts.
|Election of the board (or setting up board to include all Code4Lib members) and election of officers
|yes
|-
|Maintain status quo
|0
|Ongoing liability burdens on host institutions
|no
|no
|no
|}
=== Option 1: Maintain the status quo ===
=== Option 2: obtain ongoing fiscal sponsorship from an external organization ===
In this Report, the terms specified for each of the organizations identified as possible fiscal sponsors provide an outline of the requirements and benefits of ongoing fiscal sponsorship with a host organization. This analysis is meant to inform a Code4Lib community vote among the three broad options presented in this Report (1: maintain status quo, 2: obtain ongoing fiscal sponsorship, or 3: form an independent non-profit organization), as well as to provide a basis for comparison between the possible terms offered by each of the organizations within Option 2.
====== Pros: Possible Benefits of an Ongoing, Long-term fiscal sponsor for Code4Lib ======
Yes
= Appendix D — DuraSpace =
Appendix D — Proposal by DuraSpace to act as fiscal sponsor
[http://www.duraspace.org/ DuraSpace] describes itself as follows:
<blockquote>DuraSpace is a non-profit organization providing technical leadership, sustainability planning, fundraising, community development, marketing and communications, collaborations and strategic partnerships and administration to the DSpace, Fedora and VIVO projects.
</blockquote>
DuraSpace has expressed interest in acting as a fiscal sponsor to Code4Lib. In July and August of 2017, the FCIG posed its questions to representatives of DuraSpace. In early September, FCIG members held a conference call with DuraSpace to discuss their response. Their final response to the initial questions follows.
== What does your fee structure look like, for fiscal sponsorship of a group? ==
We’ve structured fiscal agreements in a variety of ways. For example, we have experience with flat fee, percentage of gross receipts, and hourly rate calculations plus transaction fee arrangements.
As mentioned by FCIG, if DuraSpace is selected as a fiscal sponsor, we would be responsible for filing taxes, handling funds, contract review, performing due diligence on those contracts and signing them. We recommend a flat annual fee of $7,000 USD. We will also recommend fiscal practices that ensure Code4Lib maintain a healthy fiscal reserve and purchase event insurance.
== What would you need from Code4Lib, in terms of organization? What kind of governance, if any, would your organization need Code4Lib to have? ==
We would like to have identified leadership within the project community that is authorized to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), if needed and have authority to spend C4L money.
== Is a single point of contact sufficient? (For example, the chair of the conference committee?) ==
If the conference committee chair is able to speak to or connect us with those responsible for the journal or other initiatives that require fiscal intervention we would consider a single point of contact. We typically work with a steering committee for sponsored or incubated projects.
== Would it be acceptable for that point of contact to change annually? ==
Yes.
== (If applicable) Does that point of contact need to be a formal member of your organization? ==
No.
== What kind of control does your organization want/need to have, if any, over Code4Lib’s processes? ==
We promote autonomy for our partners, projects, contracts, etc.
== Would your organization need Code4Lib to follow your organization’s bylaws, or to have our own? ==
C4L would be expected to report expenses and revenues adhering to GAAP practices and report revenue and expenses in the same fiscal year: http://duraspace.org/sites/duraspace.org/files/bylaws-may-2010-approved%20copy_0.pdf.
== Would Code4Lib need to adopt your organization’s code of conduct for its conferences, or may we continue to use our own? ==
DuraSpace does have a draft Code of Conduct, available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HRisLUyIGZnQR52okP96_Tej6noiB4hy1NiCy1mlSd4/edit. It is based in part on the C4L code.
Affiliates can use their own Code of Conduct. For example Samvera and VIVO have their own Codes of Conducts.
== Would we have the option available to have a conference in Canada, if a group there volunteered, or would that pose problems for your organization? Can you readily receive and disburse funds in Canadian dollars? ==
We have two staff members located in Canada. We can receive and disburse funds in CDN for payroll. However, when spending outside of the USA on events we are limited to two payment methods, wire transfer and check in USD. Lifting these limitations is something we can investigate with our bank if C4L is interested in pursuing fiscal sponsorship with DuraSpace.
== Some of our attendees are international; will this pose any problems? ==
No, we aim to engage effectively with the global community. We can write sponsorship letters for attendees whose organizations require them and have a policy to return registration fees if someone is turned away at immigration.
== Do you have enough staff available to deal with bookkeeping, particularly during the registration rush and the post-conference invoice-paying period? ==
At present, no. We would need to contract more time from our accountant and allocate portions of time from a few members of our executive leadership team in the pre and post-conference periods.
== In the worst case, do you have sufficient assets or insurance to absorb the complete failure of a Code4Lib conference? ==
We have an obligation to the greater DuraSpace community to spend money, including reserves, on projects and contracts, as articulated in membership agreements, MOUs, and other formal agreements. Similarly, we will not use Code4Lib conference money for anything but related expenses as approved by the Code4Lib community.
However, we are capable of obtaining event insurance to protect against the failure of a conference against natural disasters and other insurable occurrences. We have a good network of insurers who can help us find a good option to mitigate risk. In many cases, venue costs and contracts pose the most risk. We would expect Code4Lib to build a reserve (within 5 years) to cover a minimum of half of the total accommodation costs for an event (approximately $75,000) to mitigate the risk of an uninsurable occurrence (e.g. circumstances that may lead to changing location and losing a deposit/ breaking terms).
== Do you currently act as a fiscal sponsor for a group that did not originate from within your own organization? May we contact them? ==
The Samvera project is an affiliate project. The steering committee consists of DuraSpace’s Debra Hanken Kurtz, Hull University’s Richard Green & Chris Awre, Stanford University’s Tom Cramer (signing authority), University of Virginia’s Robin Ruggaber. We can make introductions for contact as you wish.
The VIVO project went from incubated project to full project recently. Mike Conlon is the contact for VIVO. We can make an introductions for contact as you wish.
PASIG is an affiliate group. Art Pasquinelli and Tom Cramer are the contacts. We can make introductions for contact as you wish.
== Have you acted in the past as a fiscal sponsor for a group or project that subsequently decided to leave your organization? If so, why did they leave? ==
Not in the recent past, no.
== How would you manage giving Code4Lib conference organizers timely access to financial records for monies held by your organization on Code4Lib's behalf? ==
There would be regular reporting based on the conference registration system as well as monthly financial reporting.
== Are there any significant incompatibilities between your mission and Code4Lib’s? ==
We feel our mission aligns well with that of Code4Lib.
DuraSpace is committed to providing leadership and innovation in the development and deployment of open technologies that promote durable, persistent access to digital data. We collaborate with academic, scientific, cultural, and technology communities in creating practical solutions to help ensure that current and future generations have access to our collective digital heritage. Our values are expressed in our organizational byline, "open technologies for durable digital content."
We promote the autonomy for our partners. We will strive to support the decisions of our affiliates (both fiscal and ethical) as much as possible, within the parameters of our own organization's legal and fiscal responsibility.
== Are you able to readily collect funds in a variety of ways, such as check, bank transfer, PayPal, direct credit card payments, and so forth? ==
Yes. All of the above mentioned payment options are accepted by DuraSpace.
