If I understand correctly, ballooning groups make money while being noticeably cheaper because they’re paying for a lot of things with community capital rather than money. A normally purchased activity is done for free because it is fun (like teaching) or because you’re paid in community capital (washing dishes feels better than it would at a restaurant, because you’re getting the esteem of your peers), which may itself be exchanged for goods or services that were acquired at below market rate (starter gear, loaners, leftovers from bulk purchases).
The idea is that there is some organization or group of individuals who “host” or “run” or “organize” Ballooning events (call this group Balloons-R-Us). These events are attended by people who enjoy Ballooning (but are who are themselves not in any way part of B-R-U), who:
a) Pay money directly to B-R-U, as the price for attendance; and
b) Also, additionally to paying money, also contribute resources / time / effort toward making the event a fun and rewarding experience.
Because (b) is so substantial, (a) turns out to exceed the costs that B-R-U incur in hosting / running / organizing the event. As a consequence, B-R-U is left with excess money, which they then dispose of as they see fit (such as storing it for future use, e.g. to fund the operation of events which do not turn out to be cashflow-positive).
The specifics of Ballooning itself is rather irrelevant, but not quite.
All Ballooning takes place under the umbrella of the Ballooning National Organization. All Ballooneers are automatically a member of their location’s Ballooning group. So the attendees of the event are either members of the hosting group, or of nearby groups.
The specifics of Ballooning are of course irrelevant, but what is very relevant indeed is the organizational structure (formal and informal) of “communities”, and the incentive structures that arise (or are constructed), and what even constitutes a “community” (and perhaps there are multiple types of “community”, which are critically different in certain ways?). That’s what I was trying to get at, with my questions.
Edit: For example, the structure that (it sounds like) you are describing is very centralized, hierarchical, organized in a “star” or “hub” topology. This is an importantly different kind of community than a more decentralized one.
Likewise, the existing of a National Organization that (it seems) is required in order for Ballooning activities to take place, is an important factor. (And whence this requirement? Regulation or other legal issues? Control of necessary resources? More informal matters of legitimacy? Is it possible to undertake Ballooning without affiliation of any sort with the Nat. Org., and merely not done—or in fact impossible?)
Are there authority structures in this community—decisions to be made, and people to make them? Whence do these structures arise, and how do they change? What are the financial incentives involved?(And clearly there are such! There are the events, of course, and National Organizations do not tend to be costless to run…) These things are important! They very much affect how, and how much, “community capital” develops, and whether it can be maintained, and how resilient it is to certain shifts, and so on.
Edit2: … why on earth is this comment being downvoted?
If I understand correctly, ballooning groups make money while being noticeably cheaper because they’re paying for a lot of things with community capital rather than money. A normally purchased activity is done for free because it is fun (like teaching) or because you’re paid in community capital (washing dishes feels better than it would at a restaurant, because you’re getting the esteem of your peers), which may itself be exchanged for goods or services that were acquired at below market rate (starter gear, loaners, leftovers from bulk purchases).
Making sure I understand, then:
The idea is that there is some organization or group of individuals who “host” or “run” or “organize” Ballooning events (call this group Balloons-R-Us). These events are attended by people who enjoy Ballooning (but are who are themselves not in any way part of B-R-U), who:
a) Pay money directly to B-R-U, as the price for attendance; and
b) Also, additionally to paying money, also contribute resources / time / effort toward making the event a fun and rewarding experience.
Because (b) is so substantial, (a) turns out to exceed the costs that B-R-U incur in hosting / running / organizing the event. As a consequence, B-R-U is left with excess money, which they then dispose of as they see fit (such as storing it for future use, e.g. to fund the operation of events which do not turn out to be cashflow-positive).
Does that sound accurate?
The specifics of Ballooning itself is rather irrelevant, but not quite.
All Ballooning takes place under the umbrella of the Ballooning National Organization. All Ballooneers are automatically a member of their location’s Ballooning group. So the attendees of the event are either members of the hosting group, or of nearby groups.
The specifics of Ballooning are of course irrelevant, but what is very relevant indeed is the organizational structure (formal and informal) of “communities”, and the incentive structures that arise (or are constructed), and what even constitutes a “community” (and perhaps there are multiple types of “community”, which are critically different in certain ways?). That’s what I was trying to get at, with my questions.
Edit: For example, the structure that (it sounds like) you are describing is very centralized, hierarchical, organized in a “star” or “hub” topology. This is an importantly different kind of community than a more decentralized one.
Likewise, the existing of a National Organization that (it seems) is required in order for Ballooning activities to take place, is an important factor. (And whence this requirement? Regulation or other legal issues? Control of necessary resources? More informal matters of legitimacy? Is it possible to undertake Ballooning without affiliation of any sort with the Nat. Org., and merely not done—or in fact impossible?)
Are there authority structures in this community—decisions to be made, and people to make them? Whence do these structures arise, and how do they change? What are the financial incentives involved?(And clearly there are such! There are the events, of course, and National Organizations do not tend to be costless to run…) These things are important! They very much affect how, and how much, “community capital” develops, and whether it can be maintained, and how resilient it is to certain shifts, and so on.
Edit2: … why on earth is this comment being downvoted?
That is a really good summary, elizabeth!