Club Policy
Clubs at PS:1 have existed almost as long as PS:1 itself has existed. Clubs arise as a corollary of the Membership Agreement section on Guests and the foundational concept of JFDI, and are governed by Be Excellent to Each Other, the Membership Agreement, and the Board Policy on Events.
What is a Club?
Some typical examples of clubs are groups that meet weekly, every other week, or monthly, are Beer Church, NERP, and Toool. For the purposes of Pumping Station: One, the definition of Club is vaguely defined intentionally. A Club is any group that has regular Club Events, whose attendance is usually three people or more, and includes at least one member of PS:1 as a participant. A Club Event can be a shared work session, an in-person meeting, an off-site activity, or a group teleconferencing session.
This definition includes group activities not usually considered Club Events, like Small Metals Office Hours. The open-ended vagueness is intended so that Clubs have the freedom to grow and change, and not be constrained by bureaucratic definitions. Office Hours could become metal casting club, the Area Host could assign someone else to supervise it. When the area host leaves, the casting supervisor could become the new Area Host, and it could become office hours again. With a loose definition, none of this requires a new framework to think about the activity.
While most clubs don't require more than a space to meet, some clubs require designated space or funding. These are two sub-categories of clubs: Area Clubs and Boosted Clubs.
What is an Area Club?
Beer Church, Wood Turning Club, and Photography Club are examples of Area Clubs. Clubs that require reserved or designated space within an Area Host's control require permission from the Area Host to operate. The expectations for their continued existence are based on whatever agreements are reached between the Club and the Area Host. Area Hosts may also choose to fund these clubs from their budget. There is an expectation that these clubs are thematically appropriate to their area, so Photography is appropriate for Arts, Beer Church's Brewing Station: One is appropriate for the Kitchen, and Wood Turning is appropriate for Woodshop. Area Clubs are Clubs that use only Area Resources and operate under the supervision of an Area Host. So Area Hosts can offer space and limited funding. Alternatively, Area Hosts can direct Clubs seeking funding and space in their Area to become Boosted Clubs.
What is a Boosted Club?
Clubs and Area Clubs are new names for existing practices. Boosted Clubs are a new framework invented in 2024 and established by vote in 2025.
Cycle Station: One, Renegade Recycling, and Power Racing Team are examples of Boosted Clubs. Boosted Clubs are Clubs that receive more resources from Pumping Station: One, and meet higher expectations when it comes to participation, accountability, and transparency. Boosted Clubs can be granted their own budget, and use reserved or designated space even if it is not assigned to an Area Host. The Host of a Boosted club may also be granted free membership. With permission, Boosted Clubs can use reserved or designated space within an Area Host's Area. They can also use space owned by Pumping Station: One that is not currently assigned to an Area Host. Boosted Clubs can be established by vote, but they can also be established by the Board. They are expected to report their activity to the Secretary to maintain their status as Boosted Clubs.
If a Boosted Club fails to meet its reporting requirements or its participation levels fall below the expected baseline, it may loose its Boosted status and become a Club, and have the privileges rescinded. Boosted Clubs that demonstrate growing attendance and high participation may request more resources from the Board. If a Boosted Club demonstrates continuous activity, high member participation, and good use of resources, it may be transformed into an Area by Board Vote.
Starting a Club
If you are a member, you probably do not need anyone's permission to start a Club. Clubs give more reasons for people to join PS:1, and make it more rewarding to be a member. We like clubs, and have resources to help your club achieve its goals. Most clubs start small, with just a few people, meeting regularly for a short period of time. If you need to hold your events in a specific area or use specific tools, you should contact the Area Host in charge of that and get it cleared first. An Area Host can authorize non-members to use tools for the duration of the Club event with appropriate member supervision. If you are expecting a lot of members to attend, and the event will occupy a space for more than a couple of hours, you should also contact the Events Planner. In addition to coordinating events, the Events Planner can arrange food and supplies for your event.
By virtue of starting a club, you are the Club Host. You are responsible for the Club, and are the point of contact that the board and people interested in the club can go to for information. If you start a club as a group, you should pick one of your founders to be the official club host. If you're the Club Host, you can transfer the title to someone else if you choose; if you're just starting a small club, the title probably won't mean much, and you can have as little or as much responsibility as you like.
Boosted Club Hosts
If your club is a Boosted Club, the Club Host is responsible for making sure events are properly scheduled. The Club Host is also responsible for keeping Minutes and submitting them to the Board Secretary. While the host can delegate these activities to another participant, it is the Club Host's responsibility that they are performed. Only the Club Host is eligible for waived membership dues if that is granted by the board.
While Area Hosts are selected by the Board, Club Hosts are self-selected. A Club Host can transfer their title and responsibilities to another participant my messaging the board secretary. The outgoing Club Host retains their waived membership until the end of the month, and while it should be expected that the new Club Host will inherit the previous host's waived membership, the new Club Host's status is decided by a vote of the Board.
Posting to the Calendar
To put your club's events on the calendar contact the Board Secretary, though a number of people have access to the calendar and can also help you. While posting to the calendar isn't required, it can increase the number of people who attend and prevent events from accidentally overlapping in the same space.
Requirements for Boosted Events
Since Boosted Clubs are receiving more resources than other clubs, they have a higher expectation set on them for events. Boosted Clubs my hold any number of regularly scheduled events, but to retain their boosted status, they must hold at least one event every month that meets the following requirements.
Events should be posted to the Site Calendar, visible at pumpingstationone.org/events/, at least 72 hours before the event begins. It is also suggested that you post to the Discord calendar.
Boosted Club events are not required to be open to the general public, but they must be open to the membership. To qualify for boosted status, an event must be open to participation from any member of Pumping Station: One in good standing. Meeting on the premises of Pumping Station: One will fulfill this requirement. The event may also be virtual, in which case the teleconferencing link should at least be available to members on the official internal forum (Discord) if not the public calendar. All members in good standing who join should be granted access in a timely manner. The meeting or activity may also be held outside the premises of Pumping Station: One, in which case it must be within 30 minutes of travel via public transportation from PS:1's Elston and Addison location. If it is held within an establishment that restricts entry, free entry must be granted to all PS:1 members. If an event is held in a restaurant or cafe, attendees must not be expected to purchase service. It's advised that organizers make arrangements with owners of those establishments.
Finally, a Boosted event must have at least three participants to count toward the monthly requirement. Boosted events that are open to the general public can include non-members as some of those participants. All events must include at least one PS:1 member.
Club Minutes
It is difficult for the board to attend or keep track of all of the events happening in the space. To assist the board is making good determinations on how to allocate resources, clubs can submit a report of attendance and activities. While this is not required of clubs, submitting minutes from at least one qualifying event a month is a requirement to maintain boosted status.
Example of Club Minutes here: (add me)
Club minutes must be submitted in a timely manner to meet the requirements for boosted status. It is suggested that minutes be submitted as soon as the event is finished, but minutes submitted 8 days after the end of the event will still qualify as timely.
Getting Boosted Status for your Club
In addition to being established by vote, a Boosted Club can also be established by a majority vote by the board. Any club can request to be boosted by the board. Clubs that are granted boosted status are expected to meet the requirements for a Boosted Club for three consecutive months before their request.
To reiterate, those requirements are:
- Have a Club Host
- Have a meeting that meets boosted meeting requirements at least once a month.
- Open and accessible to all members
- Advertised at least 72 hours beforehand
- Be attended by at least 3 people, one of which must be a PS:1 member
- Submit minutes to the secretary that includes a list of attendees and a record of activities
Why get Boosted Status for your Club?
Boosted Clubs are eligible for additional resources not available to other kinds of clubs. Like Area Clubs, Boosted Clubs can reserve space in an Area with permission from the Area Host, but they can also reserve space in areas not managed by an Area Host. Boosted Clubs can be granted storage in the general area. A Boosted Club Host can have their member dues waived. A Boosted Club host can be granted authorization to spend member funds up to an amount established by the board. Any of all of these can be requested from the board by the Club Host, though the board may make their own determination on what to grant the Club and Club Host. The amount of resources granted should be commensurate with the level of activity, attendance, and need as reported in Club Minutes submitted to the board.
Loosing Boosted Status for your Club
Clubs that do not meet the requirements for a Boosted Club for three consecutive months are eligible to have their boosted status revoked. The Board Secretary is responsible for keeping track of Boosted Clubs and their status, and is responsible for announcing Boosted Clubs no longer eligible for boosted status to the board. The revocation is established by a majority vote of the board, and the Secretary must add the revocation to the board minutes.
Boosted clubs who lose their Boosted status may continue to meet as Clubs or Area Clubs. The Club Host will no longer be eligible for waived membership dues. Infrastructure and tools built in space under stewardship by an Area Host and not explicitly registered to a Member become part of the Area, and are subject to asset removal by the Area Host. All projects are subject to normal red ticketing and tidy space policy. Infrastructure and tools built in an area not covered by an Area Host and not explicitly registered to a Member are property of PS:1. Projects are also subject to tidy space policy.
Committee for Club Oversight
In addition to its responsibility for the financial health of the organization, the Board is responsible for organizing Areas and appointing Area hosts. In the past it has handled disputes between members until they passed responsibility for that to the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC). Delegating ancillary tasks to committee is a prudent practice so the Board can better focus on its core responsibilities. The Committee for Club Oversight (as stipulated in the Bylaws on Committees) must have two or more directors as members, and a majority of a committee’s membership will be directors.
Club Oversight can grant waived membership to the Club Host, and can grant a Club designated space that is not the responsibility of an Area Host. If the Committee has been granted funds by the membership to distribute to Clubs, it can also grant any amount of that budget to a Club Host for Club use. Club Oversight may also make recommendations to the Board to disperse funds to Clubs. It may also write membership votes to establish Club funds.
Not all Boosted Clubs will be granted funds, space, or waived membership for the Club Host. While there should be no expectation that each Boosted Club will be treated the same, the amount of support in terms of the scale of area granted or funds allocated should be influenced by the following criteria:
Size Clubs that hold events that regularly and consistently have more people in attendance should receive more resources than Clubs that have lower attendance, all other things being equal (AOTBE).
Frequency Clubs that hold more Boosted-qualifying events on a regular schedule should receive more resources than Clubs that meet less frequently, AOTBE.
Publicity Clubs that make efforts to attract more attention to their activities and by extension Pumping Station: One should receive more resources than Clubs that make less effort, AOTBE.
Documentation Clubs should have a page on the Wiki under the Club name. Currently Clubs are tagged with the category Interest Groups. Clubs with a better curated wiki page should receive more resources AOTBE.
Cleanliness Clubs should take care that outside of a club event, their storage areas are clean and well organized. Club items should not be left outside of the spaces designated for Club use, and should not obscure walkways. Bonus points for aesthetically pleasing organization systems. Clubs with a cleaner and better organized page should receive more resources AOTBE.
Signage Clubs should work with Club Oversight to clearly mark areas that are designated for Club use. Clubs should also create signage identifying spaces and storage designated for Club use. If Club spaces operate under different rules than typical spaces in Pumping Station: One, there should be signage communicating those expectations to the membership. Clubs with clearly marked spaces and storage, and who do a better job of communicating altered expectations to the membership (if appropriate) should receive more resources AOTBE.
Seniority Clubs have the privilege to wax and wane in membership and activity, and can dissolve at the whim of the Club Host. Clubs that only meet for a couple of months and then disappear can be frustrating to the membership, and Clubs that stand the test of time are preferred. Clubs that have a long history of meeting at regular intervals and continue to reliably meet should receive more resources than Clubs that newly achieve Boosted status, or that do not have a long history of regular events that meet the expectations for Boosted Status AOTBE. For Clubs that have existed before the Club Policy it is only required that events be published on the events calendar and have actually occurred to be relevant for measuring seniority, there was no culture of recording attendance before this Policy.
The Committee will be transparent. It must report all of its decisions to the Board, and those decisions should be noted in the Board minutes.