[Imc-africa] more on prometheus finances/mini transmitters!

andy gunn andy at prometheusradio.org
Wed Jan 3 16:58:11 PST 2007 

hi jay and all.  sorry about the long delay in my response to this, regarding
funds and handling them in kenya.  i just chatted with the person that handles
the books for prometheus suggested that we transfer the money to my personal
account, which i can access from an atm in nairobi.  i find that a lot more
comfortable to deal with than carrying lots of cash on the plane.

so, i can disburse funds as needed when i get there, which will be the night of
the 8th.  note: this is only from the remaining money from the IMC Finance
grant, which was for $4250 total.
-a


Jay wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> 
> Happy holidays, of every sort,
> 
> At 12/22/2006, you wrote:
>> hey folks, wanted to add a little bit more about how prometheus sees its
>> role in handling the money from the IMC-finance and the xminusy grants.
>> we're glad that we have the infrastructure to do this, and honored and
>> very respectful of the trust that we have been given.
>>
>> 1)  MINI TRANSMITTERS.  one thing that andy did not pull out into the
>> budget in his last email was that we purchased a number of mini
>> transmitters.  this is what we purchased:
>>
>> 5 one watt transmitter kits at 26 british pounds sterling ($51.00) each
>> = $255.00
>>
>> 2 quarter-watt transmitter kits at 14 british pounds sterling ($27.40)
>> each = $54.80
>>
>> total = $309.80
>>
>> we also have 2 more one watt transmitter kits in stock here at
>> prometheus that we are planning to bring.
>>
>> building these kits are great -- you learn a lot about how transmitters
>> work and how to repair them in the future, and when you are done, you
>> have a working radio transmitter that runs on a cheap commercial
>> battery!
>>
>> it would be great if prometheus could be reimbursed for these kits.
>> we'd like to give them to folks from various IMCs, so they can take them
>> home after they've built them in nairobi at the convergence, and use
>> them for future education or broadcasting.  otherwise, we'll have to ask
>> folks onsite to reimburse us for their transmitter kits if they want to
>> keep them after building them.
>>
>> so, please let us know your thoughts on this.  we are looking forward to
>> building radio transmitters with you!
> 
> I think this is a great idea and feel as if it fits very well into 
> the funds allotted for radio equipment, certainly by imc-finance if 
> not also from XminusY.  Yes!
> 
> 
>> 2) PROMETHEUS BRINGING MONEY FROM IMC-FINANCE and XMINUSY DISBURSEMENTS
>> TO NAIROBI, and REIMBURSEMENTS.  andy has recommended a number of costs
>> that the IMC convergence folks need to consider -- costs that can be
>> paid for from the IMC-finance and xminusy grants if the IMC deems those
>> appropriate pots of money from which to draw for logistics in nairobi.
>> while we cannot do reimbursements for anything bought -before- we arrive
>> in nairobi, we can bring any amount of cash or travellers' cheques from
>> the money that has been disbursed in our account.
>>
>> so if we are all comfortable with this plan, this group needs to come to
>> consensus about how much money we should bring, as it will be difficult
>> for us to withdraw more from the prometheus account once we have left
>> town (our account is not tied to an ATM or cheque card).
>>
>> after the convergence is over, we can process reimbursements for any
>> costs that the IMC has deemed should be drawn from the money we have
>> left in our account.  and, of couse, we will give back any leftover
>> moneys to any body/institution that the IMC deems should be the
>> recipient of them.
>>
>> we also can't pre-purchase or count ourselves responsible for buying
>> anything that doesn't have to do with the radio station, though, of
>> course, once we are on the ground, we are very happy to help with all
>> logistics as they are coordinated by the group.  i am good at cooking
>> and chopping vegetables and am happy to help with that or any other
>> tasks.
>>
>> i send these thoughts to supplement those sent by andy below.  please
>> let us know what your thoughts are on this!
> 
> This is also wonderful.  Thanks, Prometheus, for your generosity in 
> offering to do this!
> 
> My suggestion would be for us to split up the money that remains in 
> the Prometheus account, after all pre-purchased equipment is 
> prepurchased, in a few ways.
> 
> First, I think Andy should bring $1000 in travelers checks, and maybe 
> $500 in cash as well, to be able to use on easy demand in 
> Nairobi.  Does that sound reasonable?  I'm suggesting a combination 
> of cash and travelers checks because of my experiences in Africa 
> having a harder time cashing travelers checks than $100 bills, and 
> getting a much worse rate.  Though, John, the situation may be quite 
> different in a big, modern city like Nairobi than it was in the parts 
> of Africa I visited, so let us know.  Also, when I was in Uganda, the 
> currency traders wouldn't accept "old" $100 bills because of problems 
> with counterfeiting, so get the bank in the US to give you the newly 
> designed ones.  (Again, this may not be an issue in Nairobi.)
> 
> I would also like to see us come up with a bank account we can access 
> while in Nairobi so organizers in Nairobi can access the rest of the 
> money if necessary.  That way the money won't just be sitting in a 
> Philadelphia bank, but will be "on reserve" in case it's absolutely 
> needed.  John, do you have any ideas on this?  Fabian, have you come 
> up with a way to enable the grant money to be accessible when you're there?
> 
> If we have some money in cash, some in traveler's checks and the rest 
> accessible through the bank the organizers will be able to access the 
> funds in several different ways.
> Jay
> 
>> with solidarity and respect,
>> hannah s.
>> prometheusradioproject
>>
>> On Fri, Dec 22, 2006 at 05:34:49PM -0500, andy gunn wrote:
>>
>>> hi all, i wanted to give an update on expenses and purchases that we
>>> have made here at prometheus.
>>>
>>> so far, the radio transmitter equipment, as well as all necessary
>>> connectors, power meters, power supplies and so on have been
>>> purchased.  the total comes out to $1775.82 US dollars.  this includes
>>> enough equipment for two full stations, not including studio
>>> equipment.  all studio equipment, and some radio equipment (such as RF
>>> coaxial cable, antenna parts and hardware, etc) will need to be
>>> obtained in nairobi.  i will be generating a more extensive list for
>>> this soon.
>>>
>>> for an up-to-date tally of the expenses paid out, please look at the
>>> wiki: https://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/WsF2007RadioExpenses
>>>
>>> i have also updated the tables with the radio equipment status
>>> (ordered, received, etc) on the FM equipment page:
>>> https://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/WSF2007FmRadio
>>>
>>> i would also like to mention that the xminusy funds have been
>>> disbursed to prometheus, and that is what we have used to order the
>>> above radio equipment. the imc-finance funds will be disbursed to us
>>> soon, but i believe it makes sense for prometheus to place portions of
>>> that fund in the hands of other people on the ground in kenya, so they
>>> can make necessary purchases right away.  for instance: - internet
>>> servce - networking equipment - computers - recording gear, such as
>>> tape recorders and portable minidisc recorders - any supplies we might
>>> need for the imc convergence
>>>
>>> are people comfortable with that suggestion?  who would be the likely
>>> people to handle these funds?  we are honored that you all have
>>> trusted us to manage these funds, but it is more practical to have the
>>> money managed by IMC people instead of prometheus people.  we will
>>> only require around $1500 (with perhaps another 100 to 150 dollars for
>>> tools and such if necessary) for studio equipment, and hopefully
>>> enough hardware for mounting antennas, and the antennas themselves.
>>>
>>> thanks all, take care!
>>> -andy
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> | Andy Gunn - Technical and Training Organizer - Prometheus Radio Project |
>>> |   SBE Certified Broadcast Radio Engineer and Networking Technologist    |
>>> | andy at prometheusradio.org   215-727-9620   prometheusradio.org   KB3NSE  |
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Imc-africa mailing list
>>> Imc-africa at lists.indymedia.org
>>> http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-africa
>> --
>> -----
>>
>> hannah sassaman
>> prometheusradioproject
>>
>> building radio stations = awesome
>> http://www.prometheusradio.org
>> 215-727-9620
>>
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> 
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-- 

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| Andy Gunn - Technical and Training Organizer - Prometheus Radio Project |
|   SBE Certified Broadcast Radio Engineer and Networking Technologist    |
| andy at prometheusradio.org   215-727-9620   prometheusradio.org   KB3NSE  |
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