>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.
>

>1) What are the costs associated with running a user group?
Daniel --

Back before email was common, a big expense was mailing meeting announcements. These days, I think its an appropriate strategy to keep costs at a minimum and use email as a contact mechanism.

Rooms can be an issue. However, ingenuity in this area pays off. Some MS offices are willing to host, many are not, but it's worth a shot. Often a consulting group or development group will offer to host. Public libraries may have space available to be used if meetings are open to the public.

Beyond that, user groups have done a variety of things. One up in northern Indiana charged $60 a meeting -- but they always brought in speakers from outside. They had a session extending over a week with YAG on Codebook, for example.

>2) Do most user groups charge fees, or not? If not, how do they cover costs?

?

>3) How do you go about gettin speakers, and are there fees associated?

We found that Fox folks who happened to be in town were more than willing to attend our meetings at no cost. But, it's always helpful to clarify that ahead of time.

The reality is that most groups aren't able to have outside speakers on a regular basis. Developing the group internally is important. Everyone has a project that they've worked on. Some folks feel most comfortable with an application they've developed -- follow your bliss. We all can present, and it's good practice for working with clients, managers, etc.

Folks come for a variety of reasons. After introductions (and that's important too, so that folks develop a level of comfort with others), we'd always go into a "trouble shooting" session. The level of input resolved most that evening. News in the IT world and discussion followed. Then, we had 2 presentations. We tried to have both a basic and an advanced session -- though that always didn't work out. I think everyone benefits from having something at their level, something to remind them of the core, and something to stretch. Of course, the most important part was conversation around beer after the meeting. If you catch any of Whil Hentzen's UG agendas, those are good models.

Certainly outside speakers spark interest in the group. But, for me, a dedicated core of leadership, regular and interesting meetings are just as much of a spur to get involved.

>4) Do you setup as a none profit corporation, or is it not necessary?

If you're not dealing with money, there's not much reason to do so. If you are dealing with money, particularly above a certain threshhold (in Indiana it's about 1 grand a year) then for your own protection it's worthwhile.

That said, it is helpful to have some policies or at least an understanding about election of officers, etc., such as would be covered in bylaws.

As Craig mentioned, there are a variety of both resources to assist and ways that you can use publicize the group.

Have a great one!

>Thanks in advance.
>
>Daniel
>
>
>
>Here is the notice I sent to all the Hawaii UT people.
>
>Organizational meeting will be held:
>
>October 24, 2001
>7:30 pm
>Manoa Innovation Center, upstairs conference room
>Pizza is possible. If anyone is interested, please contact me.
>
> We will be discussing our formation, and the recent FoxPro DevCon. We will also be selecting speaker topics for future meetings.
>
>Sampling of Cool Topics to Discuss:
>
>Microsoft's new outlook on Fox.
>How to make SQL statements that REALLY fly.
>Technology to switch between multiple backend data sources, including fox.
>
>First 3 arrivals will receive a cool VFP 7.0 coffee mug, from Microsoft.
>Also available are some complementary issues of CODE magazine and FoxPro Advisor (I forgot to pickup the FoxTalk issues, sorry).
>
>Hope too see you there.