I believe there are a few good options out there to switch mining to besides P2pool.  I understand the appeal of decentralized mining, but unfortunately the hashrate doesn't seem quite high enough to lend enough support to that idea.  I think we could be really well off supporting one of the pools that does a lot of good for the community such as Kano's or Bitminters, as opposed to f2pool and antpool that don't fill blocks regularly.  I understand that this might be against what the group stands for, but options are getting thin.  I also don't support mining lottery style for solo blocks.  Using Nicehash is also a good way to get higher mining rewards than currently being paid, something to think about.

I think that expanding mining operations would be a good route to go.  It seems like silver sales are the main drivers behind distributions currently, and current mining gear will only continue to mine less as time goes on.  By beefing up mining capacity, I think the group would overall benefit from higher distributions, more being put back into mining gear, and more silver and seat sales.  Going about this may be tough though, I know I could offer my entire basement as housing for units, but I would need compensation for electricity (around 8 cents per kwh).  There may need to be some creative conclusions to get there, but my belief is mining should expand.

Other business units may be a good investment as well.  Investing in the creation of a faucet or small payout game could help profits.  There are numerous other possibilities as well where expansion could occur.

I think the login period should be extended, I don't think I will remember to login every 3 months to "renew" my seat.  I personally believe you should never lose your seats and should always get distributions, but perhaps say after a year or so those donations are considered donations back to the group if you don't login, but you keep your seats.

These are a couple of my thoughts, there isn't quite enough money to procure large discounts from major equipment manufacturer's, but there are always deals on these forums if you look hard enough.