[address-policy-wg] the cost of PI space

On 15 April 2011 13:22, Immo 'FaUl' Wehrenberg <immo.ripe at be.free.de> wrote:

> I am working for such a non profit organization voluntarely (as all
> of our staff does) and I can assure you that fundraising money for
> servers/routers is not easy for us. When it comes to periodic costs, it
> is always a trade off between more bandwith/more servers (= increased
> power costs) and other things (like address space, lir membership fees,
> etc). So while most end users of independet ressources might not even
> notice a shift from 50 euros per anno to 500 euros per anno, at least
> for us that would make things seriously more difficult. After all, thats
> why we decided not to become a LIR (eventhough it would otherwise fit
> better then usage of independend ressources).


I take your point.. but I have to agree with Jim on this one.

I have worked for various non-profit organisations and also understand the
financial pressures one is under. However non-profit or not-for-profit does
not mean, for all intents and purposes, that it should spend aim to spend
more than it can afford.

Regardless of whether an organisation is for-profit or non-profit, it is a
business and must be run like one. Just look at the many charities out there
that also run like businesses... and non-profit does not mean it can not
make a profit.. just that it has to work on profit-loss neutrality.. and
ensure it's costs are met.

My biggest bugbear in some non-profits I have worked in was that the 'real'
costs were swept under the carpet... Taking it to it's conclusion, if every
volunteer in the organisation was to be paid and all costs were considered,
what would be the real cost of running the organisation? If it has not been
done, then in my opinion, it is a good exercise to do as it will give you
the tru value of running the organisation so that in case donations do drop
at least you can be prepared with savings.

> Supporting (under-funded) public benefit organisations is all well and
> > good. But is it fair to expect the NCC membership to pick up the bill?
> What bill exactly? I don't see much costs generated by users of
> independent ressources.
>

You mention you are a volunteer in a non-profit organisation. I honestly
salute you. However, if you were to charge for your time, how much would the
organisation have to pay you?

In the same way, whatever resource is being used via RIPE, is a cost to the
NCC and that needs to be paid somehow. If it does not come from the PI
crowd, then it will come from the membership. That is the 'bill' that Jim is
referring to.

Regards
Denesh
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