LoCo governance and incorporation policy?

[Matthew Copple]

One of the key missions that US Missouri Team has identified for itself
is to support existing GNU/Linux and free software user groups, foster
new groups, and educate individuals, businesses, and government
officials in our state about the benefits of free software in general
and Ubuntu in particular.

This is a big task in a state with six million citizens and over 180,000
sq. km. The online tools provided by the Ubuntu Community are a great
start, but to achieve our goals, we will have to get out in the
community and evangelize Linux face-to-face -- at technical conferences,
user group meetings, government hearings, and offering technical
assistance.

In short, it will require money. Therefore, we are considering forming a
non-profit Missouri corporation to assist us in raising funds to cover
expenses for marketing and evangelizing, and approaching corporate and
individual sponsors to assist. At a minimum, being a non-profit will
give our activists the ability to write off at least a part of their
expenses at tax time. It also gives the organization the time-tested
advantages of a formal structure that can legally outlive the activity
of its current participants.

Forming a corporation is relatively easy, but several legal issues have
occurred to me, and I wanted to know if anyone else has attempted this
and resolved these issues:

1. Is it a violation of the Ubuntu trademark policy to incorporate as
the "Ubuntu Missouri Team" or some other similar name? If it is, will
incorporating under a more innocuous name muddy our connection with the
Ubuntu community?

2. Would the community recognize a loco that had an independent, legal
existence? Right now, the Community Council (which I understand is the
sponsoring organization for the LoCo movement) really doesn't wield any
particular control over individual LoCos, except for the power to
approve them; therefore, it would seem to me that there would be no
conflict, at least as the system is currently set up. However, does the
Community Council intend on exercising more closely held control over
LoCos in the future, and if so, would incorporation interfere with those
plans?

3. Has any other LoCo looked into incorporation and non-profit status,
whether on a state/local/provincial level or nationally? If so, what
have your experiences been?

Any other thoughts or observations are welcome. Obviously, our first and
foremost purpose is to advance the cause of free software, so we don't
want to do anything that might cause us to go into direct conflict with
the rest of the community. However, we want to make a real impact on our
state, and experience shows that we cannot do that by restricting
ourselves to the virtual, internet space. We have to get out among the
people, which is difficult and expensive for men and women who do this
while carrying other full-time jobs and paying bills.

If this needs to go to a different list, or should be directed at a
specific person, please feel free to direct me there!

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Matthew G. Copple
Team Contact
US - Missouri LoCo Team
mcopple at kcopensource.org