[Fenfire-dev] non-profit association vs. co-operative

[Matti Katila]

Hi,


I have been thinking pro and con of association vs. co-operative. In first 
place I though that it would be impossible to work both in the board of 
directors and as a software engineer for associative (at least working is 
one of the ideas we have been thinking this far) but it's not direct 
financial benefit which is the forbidden operation.

In general both association and co-operative are very near of each other.
+ limited liability
+ members have no personal responsibility for it, e.g., loan.

Association:
+ ideological point
+ May be easier to apply support from government and EU sources.
- Contacts to companies have different kind of image, e.g., how much a 
  one would trust to association vs. co-operative?
- An application for chairman that is not located in Finland must be sent 
  to National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland.
- A member can not participate to internal process aim to make contract 
  between association and above-mentioned member, e.g., in case 
  of employment contract. 

Co-operative:
+ more professional image to companies perhaps?
+ voluntary shares
- less ideological since it is more often connected to money perhaps.


   -Matti