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The Octavian Society was originally quite independent of The Augustan Society, Inc. It shared an Executive Director, and it would not be surprising to learn that their publications were produced at Headquarters, but there was no official link between the two.

The impetus for the creation of the Octavian Society was an attempted takeover of The Augustan Society by a dissident group. The Society has suffered three such (to this writer's awareness), and this was the second and most serious. While turned aside, it gave Society principals cause for concern, as there was no way for a non-profit membership organization to prevent such a "takeover" if the majority of the members wished it. The Octavian Society was very deliberately for-profit, and not incorporated, but run as a sole proprietorship by Rodney Hartwell. In this way, his control was certain.

The Octavian Society drew heavily from Augustan ranks, if perhaps biased toward those felt more trustworthy. Much good work was done, primarily through publication of the ''[[Journal of Ancient & Medieval Studies]]'' or ''JAMS'' as it was commonly called. Documentation hasn't yet been found, so it's unclear if there were profits, and if those went to the Augustan Society or just into Hartwell pockets. Given that running The Augustan Society was not a secure source of income, one rather suspects the latter, which was entirely legal and proper.

Falling dormant as Rodney Hartwell slowly succumbed to his final disease, the Octavian Society passed to his sole heir, Jessica Hartwell. She, not wishing to operate the group, gave the Octavian Society, JAMS, and such other assets as might be found to The Augustan Society. Thus The Augustan Society is now in the situation of owning a for-profit business. This isn't unknown in the non-profit world, nor is it a problem, so long as the tail doesn't begin to wag the dog. As the Octavian Society has been left dormant, and Augustan recognition of Octavian honors suspended, it is not presently an issue.

However, should The Augustan Society falter, and be unable to continue financially, there is the option of transferring their assets to the Octavian Society, and leasing the operation of that group to some willing operator. This would permit the Octavian Society to continue most Augustan activities and publications, while leaving the Augustan Society as a shell to gather income until such time as they were able to resume operations. This is probably a bad idea.

A better idea would be to employ a tool used during many decades of Augustan history, wherein a contract was signed with a private company (The Hartwell Company, with Rodney Hartwell at the helm), charged with operating the Society's publications and headquarters, and permitting them to profit therefrom. The Augustan Society would continue under such circumstances, and that body's non-profit status would permit donations to the Society to continue as before.

A third option is for the Augustan Society to hire a strong Executive Director, weaken the Board to the point they only confirmed the Executive Director's contract each year, and pay the Executive Director a percentage of gross revenue. It is not clear that even a hefty percentage would be enough to attract a qualified person.

This brief history shows that there are a number of ways of managing the goals of The Augustan Society tried over the years, and more yet to be tried. Time will tell if current operating practice is optimal, or even sufficient.

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