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Smash Journeyman
This thread goes out to everybody who wants to get cheaper entry fees to tournaments, better players at their tournaments and easier storage for their TV's.
I've posted about the Swedish Brotherhood of Smash at times over the forum, and I think that it's time to share what it really is and what it does.
What is the Brotherhood of Smash?
The Brotherhood of Smash (in Swedish: Brödraskapet Smash) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2009 by smashers Helios, Hara and Aniolas. The goal of the organization is to boost video gaming as a hobby and the Super Smash Bros. series as an e-sport title. The organization currently has 31 members. Benefits of being a member includes discounted entry fees to tournaments, subsidized group travels to tournaments, assistance in hosting tournaments and more. The cost of being a member for a year is 50 SEK (roughly 7.30 USD or 6 Euro).
What is a nonprofit organization?
A nonprofit organization (NPO) is "an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals rather than distributing them as profit or dividends". Examples include Amnesty International, the Red Cross, but also The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
"Boooring. What can you do with this thing? I don't get it."
Well, let's explain what NPOs do.
What can a non-profit organization do?
Only your imagination knows the limits!
On a more serious note - other than sponsoring tournaments in various ways (lowering entry fees, adding money to the prize pool, giving money to people hiring mini-buses that smashers can travel with...), which is what you'll find yourself doing a lot, an NPO can do a number of things. Renting a small area to fill with TV's that can be picked up and brought to nearby tournaments is one thing, being the official face outwards towards media is another, granting you legitimacy (and on that note, you can also contact the media to make them come to your events, though an NPO doesn't need that). You can lend out your combined competence in various fields, such as tournament hosting.
You can also use the money to sponsor individual players - a Good Player Fund, simply. The Swedish Brotherhood of Smash has a decent sum of 2000 SEK (roughly 300 USD) in its budget dedicated solely to sponsoring good players to come to Swedish tournaments, or sponsoring Swedish players to foreign tournaments (most notably Armada).
A final, important thing: an NPO can back up tournament organizer that finds himself with a lack of money. No potential TO wants to find himself in the red, and knowing that there's a safety net can be what's deciding if there'll be a tournament or not.
How is your local Smash scene affected?
As a summary: entry fees are lowered. Travelling to events becomes easier and cheaper. Hosting tournaments becomes easier. Competence becomes easier to access.
"That sounds awesome! But...how do I do this? And why should I create one rather than just gathering donations myself? I'm a fair guy!"
There's a few reasons for creating an NPO. Even though it may seem boring and difficult, it's really not, and it is absolutely worth it.
Why should you create a nonprofit organization?
Mainly because of the economical benefits. Depending upon the size of your organization, you can receive different amounts of grants from umbrella organizations (The Brotherhood of Smash is part of Sverok), local counties, states etc. If you're hosting a tournament you may also receive grants based on the number of entrants.
It's also easier to get access to public grants if you're a member of a NPO, rather than being a sole person.
How do you create one?
This varies from country to country.
In Sweden there's an organisation called Sverok (discussed earlier) dedicated to youth's hobbies such as video games, board games, role-playing, etc, that provides counseling and financial support.
In Norway there is a similar organization called Hyperion, which does about the same thing.
In other countries, you might be bundled up with a broader mix of associations, possibly meaning worse support/understanding from them. Look for similar groups and see where they get their funding from.
You will need a group of friends (at least 3-5 people), some directions for how to start up the organisation (country dependant) and have a founding meeting in order to get started.
From there on, a bank account and a members list are usually required for any financial support.
Look up how different groups of people organise in your area. Are there groups for chess, board games, sports? Do they get financial support from your city/state/country? Ask around!
Details about the Brotherhood of Smash: We're seven members of the management - I (Isa) am the secretary, Lolex (notorious TO) is the chairman and Hara is the treasurer. Helios and Q are members of the council, and Armada and Aniolas are deputy members. We gather once per month to discuss various events and what we should spend our money on. Sometimes we speak over Skype, sometimes we meet up in person. Currently, we're discussing how we can buy T-shirts with a nice logo on that we can use for advertising, if we can sponsor train rides to our tournaments through our umbrella organization and if/how we should lower the entry at a possible BEAST 3 tournament.
I really believe that multiple local scenes could make use of this. We recently lowered the entry fee at a smashfest by more than 30%, as an example of what we can do through our NPO.
I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and hopefully other members of the management will as well.
I've posted about the Swedish Brotherhood of Smash at times over the forum, and I think that it's time to share what it really is and what it does.
What is the Brotherhood of Smash?
The Brotherhood of Smash (in Swedish: Brödraskapet Smash) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2009 by smashers Helios, Hara and Aniolas. The goal of the organization is to boost video gaming as a hobby and the Super Smash Bros. series as an e-sport title. The organization currently has 31 members. Benefits of being a member includes discounted entry fees to tournaments, subsidized group travels to tournaments, assistance in hosting tournaments and more. The cost of being a member for a year is 50 SEK (roughly 7.30 USD or 6 Euro).
What is a nonprofit organization?
A nonprofit organization (NPO) is "an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals rather than distributing them as profit or dividends". Examples include Amnesty International, the Red Cross, but also The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
"Boooring. What can you do with this thing? I don't get it."
Well, let's explain what NPOs do.
What can a non-profit organization do?
Only your imagination knows the limits!
On a more serious note - other than sponsoring tournaments in various ways (lowering entry fees, adding money to the prize pool, giving money to people hiring mini-buses that smashers can travel with...), which is what you'll find yourself doing a lot, an NPO can do a number of things. Renting a small area to fill with TV's that can be picked up and brought to nearby tournaments is one thing, being the official face outwards towards media is another, granting you legitimacy (and on that note, you can also contact the media to make them come to your events, though an NPO doesn't need that). You can lend out your combined competence in various fields, such as tournament hosting.
You can also use the money to sponsor individual players - a Good Player Fund, simply. The Swedish Brotherhood of Smash has a decent sum of 2000 SEK (roughly 300 USD) in its budget dedicated solely to sponsoring good players to come to Swedish tournaments, or sponsoring Swedish players to foreign tournaments (most notably Armada).
A final, important thing: an NPO can back up tournament organizer that finds himself with a lack of money. No potential TO wants to find himself in the red, and knowing that there's a safety net can be what's deciding if there'll be a tournament or not.
How is your local Smash scene affected?
As a summary: entry fees are lowered. Travelling to events becomes easier and cheaper. Hosting tournaments becomes easier. Competence becomes easier to access.
"That sounds awesome! But...how do I do this? And why should I create one rather than just gathering donations myself? I'm a fair guy!"
There's a few reasons for creating an NPO. Even though it may seem boring and difficult, it's really not, and it is absolutely worth it.
Why should you create a nonprofit organization?
Mainly because of the economical benefits. Depending upon the size of your organization, you can receive different amounts of grants from umbrella organizations (The Brotherhood of Smash is part of Sverok), local counties, states etc. If you're hosting a tournament you may also receive grants based on the number of entrants.
It's also easier to get access to public grants if you're a member of a NPO, rather than being a sole person.
How do you create one?
This varies from country to country.
In Sweden there's an organisation called Sverok (discussed earlier) dedicated to youth's hobbies such as video games, board games, role-playing, etc, that provides counseling and financial support.
In Norway there is a similar organization called Hyperion, which does about the same thing.
In other countries, you might be bundled up with a broader mix of associations, possibly meaning worse support/understanding from them. Look for similar groups and see where they get their funding from.
You will need a group of friends (at least 3-5 people), some directions for how to start up the organisation (country dependant) and have a founding meeting in order to get started.
From there on, a bank account and a members list are usually required for any financial support.
Look up how different groups of people organise in your area. Are there groups for chess, board games, sports? Do they get financial support from your city/state/country? Ask around!
Details about the Brotherhood of Smash: We're seven members of the management - I (Isa) am the secretary, Lolex (notorious TO) is the chairman and Hara is the treasurer. Helios and Q are members of the council, and Armada and Aniolas are deputy members. We gather once per month to discuss various events and what we should spend our money on. Sometimes we speak over Skype, sometimes we meet up in person. Currently, we're discussing how we can buy T-shirts with a nice logo on that we can use for advertising, if we can sponsor train rides to our tournaments through our umbrella organization and if/how we should lower the entry at a possible BEAST 3 tournament.
I really believe that multiple local scenes could make use of this. We recently lowered the entry fee at a smashfest by more than 30%, as an example of what we can do through our NPO.
I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and hopefully other members of the management will as well.
