About the Burning Man Australia Project
Its Organisational Structure, Finances & Purposes
For those who would like to know more about how the organisation is structured and how decisions are made, and considering our commitment to transparency, here is a brief outline of how this community was created and how it is organised from a legal and decision making point of view.
On the June long weekend in 2009 a small group of people met at Bellingen NSW to plant the seed for a future Australian Burning Man regional event. At this event it was decided that the best way to move forward would be to create a company that is bound by the obligation to provide an event for the Australian community within the principles of inclusiveness and transparency and functioning in a not-for-profit manner. While the ideal form may be for an actual non-profit organisation to facilitate this (to which we are currently transitioning) it was deemed that the requirements for setting up such a body would be prohibitive in time and structure at that point in time.
In early February 2010, Robin Macpherson (A Human), Phil Smart (Sherpa), and Richard Martin (King Richard) established Red Earth City Pty Ltd as the legal entity responsible for operating Burning Seed, Australia's regional Burning Man event. Before registering the company an agreement between the three founding members of the company was entered into, which required decisions to made by consensus and for the organisation to be run in a non-profit manner, where profits are not distributed to the Directors, Shareholders or Stakeholders and that there be financial transparency of finances to the wider Burning Man community.
The company has been run in this manner to the current day and in June 2011 changed its constitution to reflect this operating environment as a non-profit company and to bind the organisation further. The change strengthens the company's standing as a non-profit entity, through the inclusion of clear purposes and non-profit provisions, for both its operation and upon winding up.
With this stage of the company's transition completed, the next step will be to explore whether it will be worth transitioning into a public non-profit company limited by guarantee or another type of non-profit entity. This review will occur further down the track, with the community's consultation and input.
However, before considering these current changes, the directors introduced a set of Committee Guidelines for the company in August last year, which were revised further in November. This was done in accordance to the initial agreement which was entered into by the founding members before the company was formed. These guidelines created the Town Council which has been given the responsibility of managing the business and affairs of the company, as well as being the primary planning body for Australia's regional Burning Man event. The Town Council may consist of between 3 and 6 people including the Directors. The Team Leaders are appointed by the Town Council and are the main organising group that brings decisions, ideas and recommendations to the Town Council for approval where required.
The Town Council also recognises the value of wider decision making in the organisation's processes, particularly on important decisions which affect many people. As an example of this, when the recent decision was made to change the dates of the event to November, it was the Council of Team Leads which was a combined meeting of the Town Council and the Team Leaders who decided consensually to move the date of the event to November.
There are also other groups meeting regularly in the regions around the Country, which you can find out about in the newsletters or on the Burning Man Australia forums. Every effort is made to reach out to and involve the broader Australian burner community. We are a new community and are still learning the most effective ways to do this.
Follow these links to download and view the relevant documents to learn more about the Organisational Structure and Finances of the Burning Man Australia Project:
Operations Structure:
http://burningmanaustralia.com/images/operations/structure/operations_structure.pdf
Committee Guidelines:
Financials:
2010 Afterburn Financial Report for Red Earth City Pty Ltd (A private Non-Profit Company formed to serve the Australian Burning Man Community, as the legal entity to operate Australia's regional Burning Man event)
http://burningmanaustralia.com/images/2010/financials/rec_financials_2010.pdf
The Purposes of Red Earth City Pty Ltd are:
- To uphold the cultural values of the Australian Regional Burning Man Event which is aligned to the Ten Principles and wider philosophy of the Burning Man Project emanating from the United States of America.
- To operate the company and its organisation in a Non-Profit manner where profit is not distributed to the directors, shareholders, stakeholders and/or members of the wider community and upon winding up distribute all its assets to a similar Non-Profit organisation.
- To create an organisation that will operate like a funnel and a filter to allow input of ideas and information to move upwards and allow the broader community to have a say in its function.
- To allow the organisation formed here to engage certain roles by way of contract or employment which fulfils certain essential ongoing requirements that go beyond the scope of volunteers to maintain the viable, ongoing and safe operation of the Australian Regional Burning Man Event.
- To create a Town Council to manage the business and affairs of the company, which includes the operations of Australian Regional Burning Man Event.
- To require the Town Council to create a Council of Team Leads which may be delegated any of the responsibilities for conducting the Australian Regional Burning Man Event, that can also make further recommendations to the Town Council.
- To reimburse peoples out of pocket expenses that may be incurred on behalf of the organisation, this also includes members of the Town Council and the Council of Team Leads.
- To ensure there be transparency of the finances of the company and the organisation formed here by the company to the wider Burning Man Community.
- To keep the language as clear and simple as possible within the company and the organisation to the wider community.
