[Ayatollahgondola]

Originally Posted by DerailAmnesty.com

I agree, which is why I've been wondering why the planning committee hasn't announced anything. Our SoCal calendar is empty. We haven't hit the streets since Santa Clarita II.

Originally Posted by Jeanfromfillmore

When we have sufficient financial support to support a protest, then we will have the ability to do one.

Originally Posted by PochoPatriot

OK, I'll bite...since when do we need "sufficient financial support"? Every event I organized, I did without any money.

Either we are about action, or we are about sitting behind our keyboards and bitching.

Originally Posted by Jeanfromfillmore

I will not organize an event unless we have posters or at least a banner. The last event cost one of our members about $200 which he gladly donated and has helped out even more. There is the cost of this site and other expenses which only three members have donated to help out. They know who they are, and thank you so much ladies. But if we are to have a rally or protest, we need to have our organization represented with something with our name on it. Davi has the sign trailer, but we have nothing.

If I may, I'd like to interject:

Derail Amnesty - the reason the planning committee has not announced anything is because no one else has joined the committee. I believe you still have access to the planning committee section, so if you would, please post something in there about this.

Pocho - It does take a small, but necessary amount of cash to sustain the place here. The website costs money, the software that operates the forum, fees for the corporation, etc, have all been borne largely by the corporate officers and a precious(very precious) few donors. In addition, to organize an event there can be things that cost money like permits, which were an issue last time as Jean mentioned. Other things can crop up like insurance binders,...deposits, things like that. Last tour we didn't have a decent banner, and when that's the case, we may draw the interest of passers-by and media who end up focusing on the oppositions banner because...well, they had some, and we didn't.
Also, to do it right there should be, background PR work beforehand. Calls, faxes, emails for notification, advertisement...all that stuff often takes place during peak hours for the people who own the communications systems these days. Believe me, when you start getting hundred and fifty dollar a month communications bills you start to humble yourself somewhat.

So with that said, there is of course another method which is just to hit the streets and let the cards fall where they may. I'm all for impromptu stuff 'cause action is king, but we still have to consider the corporation and our responsibility to manage it. I've tried to make this point clear before, but just to reiterate, the place is not going to be run as a pirate ship anymore. We do things in a legitimate manner now, and that means we plan and execute as an organization, even if we are a loose affiliation of individualists.

So, if we're to do this, let's do it together. Go to the event planning section and request access if you don't have it. If you want to do events, you'll be granted access; that's a given. From there the lead person can solicit others to draw up fliers, create banners, and plan logistics. That way there's no argument or blame over who was supposed to do what, and when, and it will increase the chances that your event will be successful. And since most of us are used to frugal lifestyles these days, we can pool our talents for getting things done cheaply.

We are here to help. That's what non-profits do