[RE-wrenches] Solar Installers Association

[Michael Welch]

holtek at sbcglobal.net wrote at 07:21 AM 2/16/2009:
 
>Thinking out loud - if we could find someone like that to help lay out and instigate a new version of what we got, I'd be willing to pony up..........

Hi gang. 

I think Holt has hit the nail on the head. An organizing committee (Board) needs to be built to come up with general guidelines and to oversee the efforts of a paid contractor or staff person to put it all together.

That doer would need to have the organizational and people skills to ensure the financial and membership security of the association, beyond any initial funding, through dues, sponsorships, and/or foundation grants.

If I had to make a rough budget guess, I would say that a hundred or so founding members sticking in a grand to 1.5 apiece could get the org off to a very solid start - with the right organizer at the helm, of course. More founding members would mean less money per company/person. Less funding will mean a greater chance of failure, though I do understand that a *very* dedicated volunteer could pull this off. Another funding option could be corporate sponsorships by distributors and maybe manufacturers.

Lots of questions that need to be hammered out. What organizer? Would this be a specialized enough task that it would require experience in starting trade associations? Or general nonprofit leadership experience?  Do any Wrenches have the skills necessary and can take a year or so off from installing (with pay) to do a job like this?

About SEIA being involved. Don't they represent manus? Would an organization that represents manus also be able to represent the best interests of installers?

These are meant only to be examples of hundreds of questions that will be coming up about this concept, and some of them should be answered before taking any premature steps (like seeing if SEIA wants to take this on). 

I think we are going to need to take this off-list soon, I have just about finished preparing a new list for this purpose.