I was not able to find informationon this question on the PRI website. What kind of organization is thePRI? A company? A club? A collective? Who does own it? And how is it financed?
Hello Manfred, I got some insight this evening listening to an interview with Geoff Lawton here: https://www.richsoil.com/permaculture/75906-podcast-276-geoff-lawton-permaculture-part-1/ Geoff started the PRI at the behest of Bill Mollison as a non-profit organization and trust. I believe the PRI's purpose is education and is financed by courses, DVD sales, and book sales. I'm not sure of the demarcation line between the PRI and Zaytuna Farm, but I understood Geoff to say that he's founded numerous non-profit organizations to further the dissemination of Permaculture worldwide. For all the good work that the PRI does, including the forums, web page, Worldwide Permaculture Network, free videos via GeoffLawton.com and more, I think they give back worldwide as much as they take in.
seems like such basic information that it should be on the "about" page or similar... especially for a non-profit, but i don't know the regulations in Oz as to what is required for non-profits, if they require a board of trustees, how the funds are required to be accounted for, etc. probably out there somewhere. what does a whois report?
Please don´t get me wrong. I sure do not want to imply there is something infamous about PRI. I am just interested in how all of it is organized. Wikipedia says, the PRI is a “limited by guarantee” non profit company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Lawton But would it than not have to use “Ltd.” with its name? Might be I am just too “German” on this. Here even little formal mistakes in your website´s company information can get expensive… And thank you very much for the link. Paul and Geoff are addressing several experiences we have made in exactly the same manner with our selbstvers.org forum and with European permaculture people. It leaves a good feeling to know you are not the only one confronted with this kind of problems.
Manfred, Geoff explained the arrangement in his PDC when he was teaching the end of the course, based on the last chapter of the PDM. It is complicated enough that its best if you take the PDC and learn about this arrangement firsthand. I have been thinking about this, and believe it is doable, legally, even more easily, here in the USA, than it is in Australia. The arrangement has to be squeaky clean! Type in your email at GeoffLawton.com to learn when the next PDC is.
In the USA, non-profits are also considered companies if they fall under the 501(c)3 tax codes(ie: don't pay any, and donations can be tax deductible). You need 4 people minimum to set one up: president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. You also need a charter, which explains the mandate of your organization(giving free seed to people, building backyard gardens for free, education programs, etc.). All financial records are freely available to any donor upon request. The only reason I bring up the US is because Australia, Canada, UK and US all have similar laws for a lot of things.
If PRI is a non-profit company then it would be to its' benefit to have full disclosure on how this is set up, right here on the website to ensure transparency.
Claiming the setup is too complicated and you should take a PDC to understand it is absurd. Since PRI is developing a permaculture community and encouraging participation, they should explain who they are in some detail. Perhaps another paragraph in the about section of the website? cheers, tas
PRI on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register https://www.acnc.gov.au/RN52B75Q?ID=470074E0-1949-4349-B5F5-6E77D1B5A90B&noleft=1 https://www.acnc.gov.au/Document?Seqn=33801&Ikey=470074E0-1949-4349-B5F5-6E77D1B5A90B&Aseqn=92993 (PDF, contains more detail).
geofflawton.com is owned by GEOFF LAWTON PTY LTD. As far as I can tell from looking online it's a private company and is listed at the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. Some basic info here, but anything else you have to pay for. https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/R...rchText=161684760&_adf.ctrl-state=bkvwbf8vo_4
Ahh - you know you are making a difference when someone wants to know what color your underpants are.