>Hi,
> I am starting a user group here in Hawaii. Naturally, you are all welcome to stop by when you have a chance. Have some questions however.
The key the succes of our user's group is the support of Microsoft in Montreal.
Because of their support we have the room and porjector for free.
After 8 years we now have $ in the bank that we cannot get interest on. So we need to spend the $ on start speaker for our members.
>1) What are the costs associated with running a user group?
The room if it not free. The projector, hotel ...
>2) Do most user groups charge fees, or not? If not, how do they cover costs?
In Montreal we charge 35$ for a membership and 5$ for guest. Check our policis:
http://www.transformation.com/mfug/info2.htmlThe VB Users Group and the SQL Server users group charge $50
You need to charge. Otherwyse it will not work.
>3) How do you go about gettin speakers, and are there fees associated?
It hard. Some time I have to prime some of our members for a years before I get them to present. Trus me some of them will say yes and wont show up.
>4) Do you setup as a none profit corporation, or is it not necessary?
Yes in our case.
