Orientationer

Formation

AHA was formed in July 2009 in a series of make and tell meetings. It became a hackerspace in September of 2009 when Josh Williams of Digital Ops offered it a corner, and gained the name of All Hands Active a few months later. AHA was formally incorporated by Amanda Sari Perez, Bilal Ghalib, Josh Williams, and Alexander Honkala in January 2010.

Fiscal Sponsorship

In the summer of 2011, All Hands Active formed a fiscal sponsorship relationship with the School Factory to provide a nonprofit account. Donations to this account should be made to the School Factory c/o All Hands Active and they will issue a check (less 10%) for the donated amount. Anything under $250 is not considered reportable for a tax write-off, and membership dues may not be used as nonprofit donations.

501c3

In the spring of 2012, AHA began to work on its own 501c3 application with the intention of filing for federal nonprofit status.

AHA's Growth

• AHA1.0 = 9.09 to 4.10 = 120sqft, anarchic, no dues, no big tools
• AHA2.0 = 4.10 to 6.11 = 190sqft, bylaws implemented, electronics toolset consolidated
• AHA3.0 = 6.11 to 1.12 = 850sqft, organization maturing, 3D printers, laser cutter, bigger electronics bench, power tools, CNC acquired
• AHA4.0 = 1.12 to present = 1700sqft, Digital Ops acquired, Laser Room built out, Dogfort constructed, summer camps established, general renovation and Backyard Brains grows cockroaches
• AHA5.0 = as yet undefined

Membership Basics

• Members are accorded 24/7 access, 1 locker, server space, discounted classes / materials, candidacy for officership, 1 vote in the biannual elections.
• Members are asked to remit dues on time, be excellent to one another, and not make the directors make more rules.