Home on Camp the Universe

Finances

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Finances

Camp finances fundamentally consist of two things: money in (donating) and money out (getting reimbursed).

Getting reimbursed

I’m buying camp infrastructure or non-food consumables

To record any communal purchases you make, enter in each item, its prices, and your name into the “Expense tracking” tab of the annual event spreadsheet. Alternatively, if you’re out and about and want to get the receipt off your mind fast, email a photo of your receipt to jon@craftyjon.com and we’ll enter it into the spreadsheet it for you! (Our hope is that this is easier to do during times when you’ve got a phone but no laptop.)

New Member Policy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

New Member Policy

This policy covers how we add new members to the camp. A new member is one who has never camped with us before at any event.

Suggesting New Members

Existing camp members (active or inactive) can recommend that we invite people to join the camp, or new people can ask to join through an existing member. In either case, an existing member emails the camp mailing list with the candidate member’s name and hopefully some more information about the person. The existing member should direct the candidate to our wiki, explain the basics of the camp, explain a bit about the new member process, and offer to answer any questions the candidate has about the camp. The cutoff for suggesting new members is 10 days before the start of an event (7 days before the start of Early Arrival, plus the 48-hour review period).

What Is The Universe?

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

What Is The Universe?

The Universe has shifted around over the years as people join and leave, but some common threads have always existed in the environments we try to create and the passions that motivate us.

First and foremost, we try to create a feeling of “home” for our campers and visitors. We like to create social areas that encourage conversation, kitchens that are functional and well-appointed to support communal cooking, and space for art, music, dance, acrobatics, cuddling, and more.

Finance Administration

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Finance Administration

This page aims to keep details for admin-ing the Universe finances in a centralized place :)

Current point of contact: Jon

What do you have to do when you’re the current finance point of contact?

sending emails before Firefly making finance processes clear and soliciting donations (see below for template)
send money out via Venmo when amount of donations exceeds amount of expenses
be nice to people who don’t use Venmo and figure out what to do for them instead
figure out what to do with what’s left over (see below for script)

Email Template

You can send out this email template to explain finance processes and solicit donations before a burn/event. PLEASE make sure to fill in the correct values for the budget, etc instead of emailing the template with the placeholders.

How to Add Someone to the Camp

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

If someone has been approved to join the camp by our New Member Policy, here’s what to do next:

Have them fill out the New Member Questionnaire
Share any relevant information about the current event such as the planning spreadsheet, etc.
Ensure they sign up for Firefly volunteer shifts
Make sure they know about any upcoming camp events such as meetings/dinners/parties
Invite them to join the Discord if they want!

Joining The Universe

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Joining The Universe

The universe is always expanding!

How do I become a member?

We don’t have monetary dues, mandatory meetings, or anything else like that. We do ask that you read our principles and take them seriously.

We do not accept new members within one week (7 days) of the start of Early Arrival for any event. This cutoff window is to allow for our cooks to have enough time for meal planning and shopping.

Volunteering

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Volunteering

We do not have camp dues, and instead ask camp members to volunteer for shifts to help the camp run smoothly. We also encourage camp members to volunteer for the event duties such as gate, greeters, parking, rangers, etc.

To camp with us, you should sign up for at least one camp volunteer shift and one event volunteer shift. The target number of shifts per person depends on the event and the number of people camping with us, so check the event spreadsheet for details. If no volunteer shifts that work for you are available, please check in with camp leadership about alternative ways to contribute to the camp.

Food

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Food at The Universe

The Universe operates somewhat like a co-op when it comes to food. Most camp members bring food to share with others, and we have volunteer shifts to cook a dinner for the whole camp every night (and clean up afterwards!). We don’t charge dues to participate in the camp food plan, which works out if most camp members contribute. If you are excited about cooking dinner but are concerned about the cost or logistics involved, please reach out to the camp leadership and we will assist.

Personal Campsite Tips

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Personal Campsite Tips

Here is a collection of wisdom that various Universe members have collected over the years.

Placement

Try to select a campsite with enough flat ground for you to sleep comfortably (unless you’re sleeping in a hammock or suspended tent). On some event sites, there isn’t much flat ground, so you’ll have to pick a site that has an acceptable amount of slope. You’ll probably want to set up so that your head is uphill when you are sleeping.

Camp Infrastructure

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Camp Infrastructure

The Universe generally has a fairly extensive electrical infrastructure setup, including 110V and 12V electrical power, a sound system, and various forms of decorative and general-purpose lighting.

Sound System

Although we don’t advertise ourselves as a “sound camp”, we do generally bring a sound system to events. Camp members are encouraged to use it to play music, do performances, etc.

In recent years at Firefly, we have only been bringing a small stereo amplifier and outdoor speakers to provide music for the cafe. We will not generally bring a mixer or other audio equipment except by special request. At NECTR we typically bring a rackmount mixer, some processing gear, and larger speakers.

Email List

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Mailing List

We use a Google Group for a camp mailing list. Anyone who is camping with us for an event must be on the mailing list at least between the point at which they decide to camp with us and the event, but anyone who has ever camped with us is welcome to stay on the mailing list afterwards. The list is low-traffic except for the weeks before an event we attend.

Packing List

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Firefly Packing List

This list is a guideline for what you should plan to bring to Firefly. You don’t have to bring everything on the list, and there are probably things not on the list that you want to bring.

We suggest that you label your belongings with your name / identifier or some other identifying system. If you will not be personally responsible for loading in and out any of your gear (i.e. if you will be putting it on a communal vehicle or someone else’s vehicle), you should also label your belongings with “The Universe” in addition to your name/identifier.

Camp Information

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Camp Information

Location

Check out the map for an idea of placement.

We have historically been located just up the hill from the intersection of Mercurial and Verdant (Ranger HQ & first aid), approximately in the middle of the event. Placement for 2019 will be across the path from where Love and Lion’s Den was last year. We have relatively quiet space for tents, and flat space for people in our cafe to snuggle and chill.