Best Practices

The following are a bunch of best practices learned over the course of holding classes at AMT for over a year.

• Know the policies… really, it will avoid confusion and they are designed to create an easy positive experience for everyone.
• Charge an RSVP fee. There is a huge flake factor in the Bay Area and a great sense of FOMO. People also value and respect more what they pay for.
• When holding an ongoing event that will eventually be free, still charge that RSVP. Funds can go to support the initiative or for promotional materials until the event gathers a following of critical mass.
• Promote your event! Try for 6 weeks in advance but no less than two weeks for an event expected to draw the general public. For events promoted in less time, take the temperature of the “room” by gauging interest. Post it on the site, FB, etc. Also send out flags to other hacker maker groups.
• Plan on time to set-up and to break down.
• Assuming your event is open to the public plan time in your presentation to explain what AMT is and how it works.
• Plan on getting any tool users to sign a waiver.
• Plan on cleaning up! You hosted and your guests are your responsibility. That said, don’t be shy about asking for help… cleaning up shouldn’t be a deal breaker.
• Don’t depend on supplies in the shop… either check them in time for your event or bring extra just in case.
• Handouts for training classes are awesome, especially, if your presentation is lecture style or folks don’t have a way to write things down.
• If you aren’t a current AMT member and would like to run an ongoing event, the most cost-effective and hassle-free way to do so is to become a member.

Policies

Not-for-profit

• Any dues current member holds a not-for-profit class in the space as long as the subject has some affinity with AMT.
• It is still possible to charge for materials for a not-for-profit class as well as an RSVP fee. I suggest charging a small RSVP fee such $3 when doing so. I have found that without an RSVP fee the flake factor is greatly increased.
• See below for instructions on how to get reimbursed for fees charged through meetup.com
• Please check the ACE public calendar
• Request Co-Host access on our Ace MeetUp space via an email to [email protected]
• Use your Co-Host to schedule your event directly in MeetUp.com
• Members are also responsible for keeping the agreements about space/equipment use (ex. Getting attendees to sign a waiver, set-up/breakdown, etc.)

For-profit

• A dues current member can hold a For-profit class in the space.
• They schedule that directly in Meetup and promote at will.
• They are also responsible for keeping the agreements about space/equipment use (ex. Getting attendees to sign a waiver, set-up/breakdown, etc.)
• They are responsible for making arrangement to collect fees for the class, either through AMT (MeetUp.com) or independently.
• They are responsible for paying AMT a fee negotiated with the officers/board prior to scheduling the class. (See For-profit Fee Structure below)

For-profit Fee Structure

AMT is happy to host for profit events for a fee. That fee is pre-negotiated on a case-by-case basis and will be based on one of the following:

• Per head fee for the space
• Split of percentage of fees charged per student – usually not high
• Hourly fee for the space

Several factors go into which structure will apply to your negotiated fee. For example, will your class incur cleaning charges or require a special set up? Will it be high traffic or low traffic? Will you require a lot of support/training to use the space?

MeetUp.com Fee’s reimbursement

If you need to be reimbursed from fees charged for your class, email the treasurer the following:

• An invoice for the amount you need to be reimbursed
• Google what needs to be on an invoice.
• Name and Date(s) of your class.
• Include the method of reimbursement (PayPal, check, etc.)

Short List: Agreements about space/equipment use

• All users of equipment/space must sign a release of liability.
• Members are responsible for the non-members/event attendees they sponsor.
• Event holders are responsible for keeping the basic membership agreements.
• Event holders are responsible for leaving the space better than how they found it.