Hey all, X'ers in the Denver area are forming a bonafide Colorado off-road club. Most of what is happening has been posted on TNX. We need to get it over here, too. It is kind of hard to keep it straight on multiple forums. Check it out and feel free to comment or hit me up for info.
http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=78137
There are a few aspects of being a club that we are considering and basic principles we discussed at a meeting last week as a basis.
1. We are all Xterra (Nissan) enthusiasts. We have a bond. I.e. we like to get together to mod our trucks, talk about them, show them off, get new ideas, wheel them and hang out with each other. This is a great group of people and that is why we band together. That is the purpose of our club.
2. We spend so much time on our trucks and with each other wheeling, meeting, etc - we can use that to give back to our community. One of the big things is trail advocacy since wheeling is one of our common goals. Trail and community stewardship goes hand in hand with our purpose as a group/ club.
3. Per Colorado laws, once we start calling ourselves a club the State can consider us a "partnership". That could subject us to various laws, taxes, and PERSONAL liability. To protect our individual interests we should incorporate as a 501.3c non-profit and apply for tax-exempt status. This will keep our individual households safe and separate from the club and allow us to raise funds to apply to trails, charities, etc.
Like I said before, a few of us are doing some legwork about 501.3c, forming a club, etc, etc. We would like to put together a framework to present to everyone and go from there. The club will be designed to meet the objectives listed above. It will require writing and ratifying bylaws, electing officials, organizing events (trail runs, trail cleanup, mod days, etc), trail stewardship, and whatever else we want to use it for. It will be BY the club - FOR the club.
There will need to be some required participation, nominal annual fees (fee use ALWAYS voted on by the group - no individual has authority to spend fees), et cetera. Most of this is meant to accomplish what the club charter sets out to do, to help sponsors/ partners recognize us as a legitimate organization, ensure that people who want to join have motive to do so, etc. It will also ensure the club has the legs and infrastructure to be an organized collaboration of people with a common and dedicated purpose.
If you are interested please stay tuned and plan on a few meetings in the next 30 days or so. Some of the decision making by the forest service begins in January so we need to push for establishing a framework. We know that the holidays are upon us but we need to find a way to hash this out quickly.
Keep in mind that there are those of us willing to do the legwork described above to make this work. We understand most of us would like to join the club, kick back, reap the benefits and that is the idea. That is OK. Watch for more detail and get excited about this.
http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=78137
There are a few aspects of being a club that we are considering and basic principles we discussed at a meeting last week as a basis.
1. We are all Xterra (Nissan) enthusiasts. We have a bond. I.e. we like to get together to mod our trucks, talk about them, show them off, get new ideas, wheel them and hang out with each other. This is a great group of people and that is why we band together. That is the purpose of our club.
2. We spend so much time on our trucks and with each other wheeling, meeting, etc - we can use that to give back to our community. One of the big things is trail advocacy since wheeling is one of our common goals. Trail and community stewardship goes hand in hand with our purpose as a group/ club.
3. Per Colorado laws, once we start calling ourselves a club the State can consider us a "partnership". That could subject us to various laws, taxes, and PERSONAL liability. To protect our individual interests we should incorporate as a 501.3c non-profit and apply for tax-exempt status. This will keep our individual households safe and separate from the club and allow us to raise funds to apply to trails, charities, etc.
Like I said before, a few of us are doing some legwork about 501.3c, forming a club, etc, etc. We would like to put together a framework to present to everyone and go from there. The club will be designed to meet the objectives listed above. It will require writing and ratifying bylaws, electing officials, organizing events (trail runs, trail cleanup, mod days, etc), trail stewardship, and whatever else we want to use it for. It will be BY the club - FOR the club.
There will need to be some required participation, nominal annual fees (fee use ALWAYS voted on by the group - no individual has authority to spend fees), et cetera. Most of this is meant to accomplish what the club charter sets out to do, to help sponsors/ partners recognize us as a legitimate organization, ensure that people who want to join have motive to do so, etc. It will also ensure the club has the legs and infrastructure to be an organized collaboration of people with a common and dedicated purpose.
If you are interested please stay tuned and plan on a few meetings in the next 30 days or so. Some of the decision making by the forest service begins in January so we need to push for establishing a framework. We know that the holidays are upon us but we need to find a way to hash this out quickly.
Keep in mind that there are those of us willing to do the legwork described above to make this work. We understand most of us would like to join the club, kick back, reap the benefits and that is the idea. That is OK. Watch for more detail and get excited about this.