Free Geek Structure
From FreekiWiki
Free Geek is governed by its workers and volunteers. It's a complicated place and there are numerous working groups and committees involved. Here's a rundown in a nutshell
Contents |
Programs
These directly work to fulfill the mission of Free Geek. Some have meetings or associated email lists and queues in RT.
- Adoption Program - Work 24 hours, earn a computer
- Build Program - Learn to build computers, keep the 6th you assemble
- Gapsters - Computers intended for free internet access which we supply to coffee shops & other public places.
- Hardware Grants - Grants out computers and other hardware to non-profits
- Thrift Store - Reuses (in the form of sales) many inexpensive gizmos and a few fancy ones, too.
The Big Three
decision-making and work-doing bodies
- Board of Directors
- The board is responsible for fiscal and legal oversight of the organization. It is made up of people elected by the Community Council.
- Community Council
- The council is open to all volunteers, staff, and other interested community member. It looks at the long term picture of Free Geek and sets general policy. It coordinates policy making between the various working groups as needed. (See the Founding Document of the Council for more details on the scope of the council.)
- Staff Collective
- The staff collective is responsible for day to day operations and is made up of hired staff members.
Working Groups
Groups are volunteer driven and are designed to support the various programs at Free Geek. They tend to meet after hours and have associated email lists and queues in RT.
- ASS
- Volunteer system administration
- <ass AT freegeek DOT org>
- Coders
- Volunteer programmers
- <coders AT freegeek DOT org>>
- Core
- Volunteers working in the day to day operations of Free Geek. ("The Core" is more of a descriptive term than a cohesive working group.)
- <core AT freegeek DOT org>>
- Hardware Grants
- Volunteers helping to distribute hardware to organizations (apart from the Build and Adoption programs).
- <grants AT freegeek DOT org>
- Community Builders
- In charge of room use, tabling, relations with neighbors, and networking with other organizations.
- <commies AT freegeek DOT org>
- PR
- In charge of media outreach & relations, ads & marketing, the main Free Geek website, and corporate donations solicitation
- <pr AT freegeek DOT org> OR, if someone from the media is asking, then <press AT freegeek DOT org>
- Inreach
- In charge of tours, volunteer rewards, core breakfast, front desk, public email addresses (like Volunteer@ and Info@), and large donation thank you notes.
- <inreach AT freegeek DOT org>
- Events
- In charge of Free Geek parties and festivals, like Geek Prom, Geek Fair, and the holiday party.
- <events AT freegeek DOT org>
- Optimization and Priorities group
- A Council workgroup which discusses what we're already doing and how we can do it better, compares proposals for expansion, & helps people turn their ideas into reality.
Standing Staff Committees
These standing committees of the Staff Collective are designed to oversee all the areas of Free Geek, implementing policies that are set by other groups and making policy suggestions to those other groups. Each committee has a mailing list and a queue in RT. Standing committees are ongoing. Ad hoc committees are temporary.
- Standing Action Committee
- Mission: Building and equipment security, staff and volunteer safety, supply, waste removal, and the sale of scrap material.
- Programs: Recycling, receiving, maintenance and design of the physical plant, building security, general safety.
- Current Staff Members: Liane, Luiz, Matteo, Sergio
- Email: action at freegeek.org
- Standing C7 Committee
- Mission: The standing committee structure, liaison with board and council especially regarding policy development, financial considerations.
- Programs: Policy development, load balancing of the committees, liaison with Free Geek Community Council and Free Geek Board of Directors, nominations to the various committees, proposals concerning changes to the committee structure itself; volunteer and staff scheduling; accounting and financial oversight.
- Current Staff Members: Dave, Michael, Richard, Ali, Mary Kate
- Email: c7 at freegeek.org
- Standing HR Committee
- Mission: Provides oversight for those areas of Free Geek pertaining to the health and well being of volunteers and staff.
- Programs: Human resources, volunteer and staff discipline, procedures regarding theft from Free Geek, mediation between conflicting parties, staff and intern reviews, health care and benefits packages, employee manual, oversee the hiring process.
- Current Staff Members: Ali, Dave, Laurel, Michael, Richard, Shawn
- Email: hr at freegeek.org
- Standing Knowledge Bees Committee
- Mission: Facilitating access to information through documentation, training and support.
- Programs: Education, documentation, liaison with Distro group, technical support, Free Geek library.
- Current Staff Members: Laurel, Liane, Michael
- Email: grok at freegeek.org
- Standing Outreach Committee
- Mission: Oversight of outreach, public relations, and associated fundraising.
- Programs: Fundraising, grantwriting, outreach, advertising and marketing, parties, festivals and other events, community building, relations with the neighbors, relations with the non-profit and social change communities, membership development, volunteer rewards, the Free Geek website, the reception area, public email addresses, media relations, volunteer acculturation and training, advertising and design of donation pickups.
- Current Staff Members: Ali, Jeff, Laurel, Shawn, Mary Kate?
- Email: modsquad at freegeek.org
- Standing Propagation Committee
- Mission: Outreach to organizations to promote reuse of hardware and use of Free and Open Source Software.
- Current Staff Members:
- Programs: Liaison with Free Geek startups (the replication of Free Geek elsewhere), liaison with GAP volunteers, Hardware Grants.
- Current Staff Members: Ian, Matteo, Michael, Richard
- Email: propagation at freegeek.org
- Standing Reuse Committee
- Mission: The testing, building, refurbishing, and sales of reusable equipment.
- Programs: Freekbox, storebox, grantbox production, build, laptops, testing maintenance and development; retail sales, eBay sales; printer refurbishing and sales; locate, evaluation, and put oddball hardware into reuse; wholesale or bulk sales of to-be-recycled parts.
- Current Staff Members: Dave, Ian, Jeff, Luiz, Matteo, Sergio
- Email: reuse at freegeek.org
- Standing Technocrats Committee
- Mission: The selection or creation, maintenance, and technical security of hardware and software used at or installed by Free Geek.
- Programs: Liaison with Coders group, liaison with ASS group, liaison with Distro group, selection of software commonly used at Free Geek, computer security, technical infrastructure.
- Current Staff Members: Lantz, Michael, Richard, Vagrant
- Email: technocrats at freegeek.org
Ad Hoc Staff Committees
From time to time, there are also ad hoc committees that meet while needed before disbanding. Examples of this would be:
- Interview committee
- Recommended by HR and approved by the collective to interview people applying for paid staff positions
- Resolution Committee.
- Recommended by HR and approved by the collective to bring to resolution issues that could result in the termination of a staff member if not dealt with.
- Review Panel
- Recommended by HR and approved by the collective to coordinate reviews of collective members.
