Donations Policy

Leicester Hackspace Policy on Donations and Purchases [DRAFT, 10/12/2014]

Leicester Hackspace is a small venue. We are grateful for all donations, but we have some rules about what we can and cannot accept, and how we accept them. Anything given to the Hackspace - excluding clearly stated long and short term loans - may be subject to return or an offer to another organisation, or disposal, if it becomes unusable, or impossible for us to keep in the space. The following rules will help to keep the space under control.

[Note: this policy does not include the acquisition of consumables, for which there is a separate process.]

1. Anything which is offered, or becomes available, to the space (rather than to individual members) must be accepted by the directors or their appointed representaives.
2. Anything accepted on behalf of the space must be deemed useful and relevant, and a discussion must be had about where these items will be housed within the space. Donations, either of tools or hackable items, cannot exceed the capacity of the space to use or deal with them within a reasonable time period (typically 3 months).
3. In the case of larger donations or purchases, they can only be accepted if accompanied by an 'owner' or 'owners' who take responsibility for maintenance and training in the safe and effective use of the equipment.
4. Purchases made with Hackspace money must be accepted by quorum and the purchase dealt with by the directors.
5. We should try and avoid duplication of larger tools and equipment. In the case of smaller tools kept for use at workshops, the number may exceed one, but should be kept to a reasonable number - to be decided on a case by case basis.
6. The provision of tools which are faulty or need repairing will be carefully controlled, and such tools must be labelled.
7. For clarity, smaller donations of objects and equipment which may be of interest to individual members must be left in the member donations box. A donations sticker with the date of donation must be appended to them. If they are not used within three months of this date, they will be scrapped.
8. All new donations will be listed on the wiki, as well as the whiteboard in the space, in order that members know what has been collected and what is available to hack.
9. When an item in the donations area reaches the end of its review period, it will be given one final promotion to the members before it is disposed of.
10. Once approved, all donations, small or large, must be QR coded and linked to the wiki equipment list and description page. This should be undertaken by the donor, with help if needed.