Hi Bart, I am answering this from my gmail and not my official VCF address as it is intentionally blocked from posting here. VCF has a board of directors that is responsible for managing the resources of the organization with two things in mind. First is our mission statement, available here https://vcfed.org/museum-mission-statement/ The second is the continuing health of the organization so that it will out live all of us. We maintain a separate budget for the Museum, fundraising activitieis (festivals, swap meets, ...) and the online forums. We also have various "keep the lights on" costs that are part of our general operational budget. Those budgets contain allocated funds for projects that have been proposed to the board of directors. For example, when we started talking to Infoage about the “Broadway” hallway that connects the museums needing work to get a certificate of occupancy. Infoage wanted each of the connected musuems to fund a section of the work, the Mid-Atlantic steering committee which is responsible for the Museum/Warehouse requested a budget for that project and the money was allocated in preparation for this work. When an unplanned or funded request comes up, like purchasing an SD card emulator for an exhibit in the museum, then the museum manager will need to make a choice. Request some supplemental funding from the board of directors, see if it can come out of an existing funded project where applicable, or ask for a donation either physically or monetarily. In this case, it was decided to ask first for a donation. As an official IRS charity, this is what we have usualy do first when something comes up, but the other two options still exist. In many cases, one of the docent volunteers or board members like myself or Erik Klein will actually donate an item or the funds when we hear about the need before VCF goes out and asks the general membership. This is my "shout out” to the docents who not only volunteer their time, but in a lot of cases they are donating many of the “extras” used in the museum exhibits. Cheers, Corey corey cohen uǝɥoɔ ʎǝɹoɔ Vintage Computer Federation, a federal 501c3 designated charity 917-747-1408 mobile corey@vcfed.org <mailto:corey@vcfed.org> www.vcfed.org

On Sep 26, 2024, at 9:25 AM, Bart Hirst via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:

Hey Jeff, related to this, how does VCF East prioritize its financial resources? I ask because I want to support the organization, and at the same time I have seen no information on how funds are allocated.

Some information at a very high level such as what processes or budgetary overviews occur, and the financial reasoning behind seeking external donations for equipment would help me, and I’m sure others, better support the organization.

On Wed, Sep 25, 2024 at 9:24 PM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:

...

VCF would like to get this Compact Flash card for our museum to make demos easier for our visitors: https://www.reactivemicro.com/product/cffa1-apple1-only/

Would someone be willing to buy and donate this to VCF? If so, then please contact me.

Take care!

Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner VCF Mid-Atlantic Event Manager Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/> jeffrey@vcfed.org

-- Bart Hirst "This signature will now be eaten up and spit out by Velociraptors."