Prizes
How will DeciNena reward me better than other teams?
We feel we have a fair and attractive way of sharing the prize among everyone on the team, proportional to the amount of participation and contribution each makes. Even those who don't personally find a balloon can qualify to receive some of the prize.
There are four groups, the Principal (that's me, Chris 'Xenon' Hanson, the guy putting the team together and paying its necessary expenses), the Organizers (a small group of trusted people chosen to be the war-room brains), the Finders (people who find or verify a balloon) and the Seekers (everyone who helps look, but doesn't actually find a balloon). If we win any kind of prize, everyone qualifying in one of those groups can share in the prize.
We don't have a set dollar figure for how much each Team Member will receive. Instead, we'll divide the prize money equally between the four groups above, with all group members sharing the prize. Our Team Charity is planned to be the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Any Team Member can elect to have their prize money contributed to the charity.
Want more detail? Here's an in-depth explanation. Keep in mind, we're trying to keep it fair -- our Organizers group will be available to decide any unusual situations that might come up.
Organizer Pool: 1/4 of total prize. Divided equally by 'share'. All organizers get one vote in deciding which organizers performed during the event and deserve a share. A majority of organizers must agree that an organizer performed in order for that organizer to be given a share. An organizer may nominate another organizer for either one or two EXTRA shares. If an organizer is so nominated, a majority of organizers must agree by vote that the candidate performed above and beyond and deserves the extra shares. For purposes of voting and tie-breaking in an Organizer Vote, the Principal has a vote equivalent to three Organizers, but does not receive any portion of the Organizer Pool. Each Organizer is granted one (but no more than one) share of the Participating Seekers Pool, and in the unlikely event they actually personally locate a Valid Target, they may each receive one (but no more than one) share of the Finders Pool.
Finders Pool: 1/4 of total prize. Divided by 'share'. Each Seeker who delivers unique information (valuable information not already received) about a Valid Target is considered a Finder and is allotted four shares of the Finders Pool. In the event the Organizers feel a Seeker's contribution was not valid for some reason, an Organizers Vote can revoke a Finder's eligibility to receive some or all of their shares from the Finders Pool. This is intended only to bar Finders who manipulate or deceive the Team. In the event a Finder's shares are revoked, the revoked portion of the prize goes back into the Finders Pool to be shared by the other, valid Finders. Finders who report non-unique information, such as the first person to confirm an already-located Valid Target, may be granted one, two or three shares of the Finders Pool by Organizer Vote. Finders are excluded from receiving any part of the Participating Seekers Pool.
Participating Seekers Pool: 1/4 of total prize. Donated to charity or divided by 'share'. All Seekers who, in the eyes of the Organizers, report in on B-Day with proof that they are in contact with the team and actively searching for the Valid Targets will receive one share. Qualifying membership in the Participating Seekers Pool is solely by the decision of an Organizer. If a Seeker wishes to challenge the membership in the Pool of any Seeker, themselves or another, the decision will be made by an Organizer Vote. Similar to the Finders and Organizers, Participating Seekers can be nominated (by any Seeker or Organizer) for one or two extra shares recognizing outstanding effort. Until a Participating Seeker positively indicates otherwise (and has their preference confirmed by the team), each Participating Seeker share will be earmarked to be donated to a charitable organization (such as the Electronic Freedom Foundation) determined by Organizer Vote. If the Participating Seeker requests to receive the money themselves instead of donating it, they MUST indicate this to the team AFTER the team determines if it has won any prize money.
Principal Pool: 1/4 of total prize. Allocated solely to the Principal. (I've got a son who is going to need a college education!)
The prize money will be received initially by my corporation, AlphaPixel, LLC and then disbursed by check or PayPal. By treating it as corporate income and then corporate expenses, we avoid having the whole prize amount eaten up by paying taxes on it as a lump sum. Instead, each team member who receives some prize money will pay taxes on it at their own tax rate. Because of the progressive tax rates in the US, this should overall reduce the amount of prize money lost to taxation and leave more money in the hands of team members.
In the event that the amount of money to be distributed to ANY team member is less than the cost of distributing the money to them (Paypal fees, bank check charges, cost of writing checks and postage, etc) as determined by Organizer Vote, then that team member's prize distribution will not be awarded to the team member as cash, and instead will be donated to the Team Charity (along with any other funds due to the charity, hopefully as a lump sum).
