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Like many of you, we in the KUKU have used the month of January to set the path that we intend to follow with firm step through the year that has just started, and to try and anticipate what it will bring for us. Next to the development of a variety of courses and events, the design of a financial plan is also part of this preparation for 2013, because even though thanks to the current arrangement with the owner we don’t have to pay rent for the space that the KUKU is using, it is obvious that the conditioning and running of the KUKU brought, brings and will continue to bring along costs; costs that we have to find a way to cover, if we don’t want it to fall in its previous slumber again.
We have to admit: the calculations, the cold-blooded juggling with numbers, the completely objective and realistic approach needed to deal with financial matters don’t come easily to us. Luckily, we can count on help and we feel your excitement and expectations. Who knows where we would end up at without them every time it comes to facing the facts.
The result of these days of back and forth calculations, is a budget estimate of the costs that are to expect, followed by a balance of the effects that these costs might have on the activities, workshops and cultural events what we would like to organize. This should help us to find the best formula to achieve our goal: that in the three years we have ahead of us, the KUKU becomes a financially self-sustainable project.
Here is a breakdown of the essential expenses for the first year:
# The costs of direct usage (power, gas, heating, Internet (50%), telephone connection) amount to 1.600 €;
# The expenses in insurance, fees and other charges (garbage collection, etc.), repairs and maintenance add up to 1.820 €;
# Cleaning products, stationary (paper, ink, etc.), about 540 €.
Up to here, we have a sum of 3.960 €. In this calculation we have included what we see as indispensable investments, and it is based on an estimate that we will most likely have to correct by the end of the year, when we have the actual numbers at hand.
There is another item that we consider necessary, but maybe not essential, and that consists of the personnel costs covering the opening and running of the virtual and physical spaces where the KUKU_actions take place. For the sake of obtaining an approximation, we assumed two work hours per day, which equals a monthly salary of 440 €, or alternatively 4.840 € over the whole year.
Combining these two quantities gives us a total of 8.800 €, which adjusted to the KUKU_opening hours means a quota of 5 € per hour assuming the ideal, yet unlikely case in which the KUKU would be used 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, during 11 months of the year.
If this amount had to be covered solely by the activities hosted and organized by the KUKU, and a share of the costs (power, heating, etc.) were to be included in the participation fees, these would become too expensive to consider offering minority proposals. To avoid the mentioned limitations on the KUKU_program, we have developed a series of alternative sources of financing, such as:
# the voluntary contributions from participants during the specific activities taking place at the KUKU (seminars and round tables, exhibitions, performances and other cultural events);
# a percentage of the income generated through our professional activity for andat the KUKU (courses, workshops);
# the disponibility of the existing facilities for their use by other collectives, individuals, associations, etc.;
# the voluntary quotas paid by KUKU_friends towards the establishment of a KUKU_share capital.
Reached this point, we want to present you with an idea that we hope allows every one of you to find a format that matches their wish for, and possibilities of commitment.
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KUKU_friends
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Size XS 25,- €/year
We have named this smallest of all contribution sizes “distance sympathy”. It is meant mainly _but not exclusively_ for everyone who, in one way or another, feels connected to the KUKU and wants to lend a helping hand, yet lives too far away to be able to participate in our activities or use the KUKU_facilities. We could also call this option a “0-line”; and all our friends with small budgets can feel comfortable here.
What do we offer in exchange?
# Information about our activities and events, personally and over email if you explicitly ask us for it and send us your email address to puentetomapeople@gmail.com (alternatively, the KUKU_blog is always available to you and up to date);
# a set of 5 postcards around the end of the year 2013, as a souvenir of memorable moments and impressions of the KUKU.
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Size S 50,- €/year
This is the smallest size designed mainly, but not only, for friends close by, who like the KUKU also in its “real”, physical dimension, who want to give financial support for the maintenance, the repairs and “embellishment work” that are yet to be completed as KUKU, and who think that they might be tempted to participate in more than one of our activities…
What do we offer in exchange?
# Information about our activities and events, personally and over email if you explicitly ask us for it and send us your email address to puentetomapeople@gmail.com (alternatively, the KUKU_blog is always available to you and up to date);
# a set of 5 postcards around the end of the year 2013, as a souvenir of memorable moments and impressions of the KUKU;
# free use of the basic infrastructure (Internet connection, book exchange, reader’s lounge, etc.) during the KUKU_opening times, as long as the space is not used otherwise (for courses, etc.);
# a discount of 5% applicable to all KUKU_activities and specifically designated KUKU_objects.
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Size M 100,- €/year
This is the middle size, fit mainly, but now only, for everyone who does not only feel sympathy for the KUKU_concept and the KUKU_philosophy, but has time, energy and the means to give us that little push that makes it possible for us to dedicate our efforts to this project, to art and culture, and to finding contents for the KUKU that are worth your engagement.
What do we offer in exchange?
# Information about our activities and events, personally and over email if you explicitly ask us for it and send us your email address to puentetomapeople@gmail.com (alternatively, the KUKU_blog is always available to you and up to date);
# a set of 12 postcards around the end of the year 2013, as a souvenir of memorable moments and impressions of the KUKU;
# free use of the basic infrastructure (Internet connection, book exchange, reader’s lounge, etc.) during the KUKU_opening times, as long as the space is not used otherwise (for courses, etc.);
# a discount of 10% applicable to all KUKU_activities and specifically designated KUKU_objects, as well as a gift certificate for the value of 10 €, for you to invite someone to the KUKU and share your KUKU_friendship with.
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Size LX 200,- € and more /year
This is the biggest of all sizes in our collection, meant for KUKU_sponsors, for all of you who feel somewhat identified with the KUKU and want to help it overcome the financial obstacles that it might encounter. Distance doesn’t matter, because what ties you to the KUKU is the concept and philosophy behind the project. Maybe you have an interest in textile art, or a certain affinity with the German language and culture, or with any other aspect of what we want to offer at the KUKU; but there might also not be such affinity at all. For us, this is the size that ties the “LX” to the “XS” and that way closes the circle of KUKU_friendships…
What do we offer in exchange?
# Information about our activities and events, personally and over email if you explicitly ask us for it and send us your email address to puentetomapeople@gmail.com (alternatively, the KUKU_blog is always available to you and up to date);
# free use of the basic infrastructure (Internet connection, book exchange, reader’s lounge, etc.) during the KUKU_opening times, as long as the space is not used otherwise (for courses, etc.);
# a discount of 20% applicable to all KUKU_activities and specifically designated KUKU_objects, as well as a gift certificate for the value of 20 €, for you to invite someone to the KUKU and share your KUKU_friendship with;
# a hand-made, limited edition “KUKU_Book”, containing the set of 12 postcards, a review of the activities at the KUKU throughout the year, information about the activities planned for the coming year, and an exclusive “surprise_object” from the KUKU_line of production.
Independent of your size, you are all invited to the KUKU_Party that we will host in mid-December to celebrate the KUKU’s first birthday, an excellent opportunity for those friends far away to get to know other KUKU_activists. It will be a celebration dedicated, of course, to you: without your friendship with the KUKU, without your support for art, culture and creativity, this project wouldn’t be possible. So it is our chance to send out a great big “thank you”…
And if we manage to raise more money than we had ever thought possible? Well, even better, because there is a long list of possible improvements that need to be done and that we want to do, such as renewing the electrical installation, the lighting and heating systems, expanding our furniture (tables, chairs), maybe a projector, an electric water heater, etc. …
Now it is your decission. When choosing a size, you can either drop by the KUKU directly or use the following account number. Please indicate the following: “KUKU 2013……. First/Last name”
IMPORTANT: To enjoy the benefits that come with your size, please don’t forget to state your first and last names. Contributions without personal information (anonymous deposits) will be considered donations, and we will assume that the donor is deliberately giving up his or her right to the corresponding benefits.
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ku(nst) & ku(ltur) projekt 