Re: [gentoo-nfp] Re: [gentoo-core] Nominations?

[Ned Ludd]

This is a pretty long book you wrote. So I'll just say what I think 
here.

No offense but this seems like a crack heads pipe dream and would
probably not be a wise use of funds. Dump 300k in hardware, developer
training, books, etc and we will get a lot more accomplished that make
Gentoo itself better. Raise 300k and get us all together and you will
see 250 people with hangovers and a small handful projects that come
out of it in the end. SoC will probably of proved to be more successful
(end results) for a lot cheaper.


On Thu, 2006-07-27 at 20:50 +0100, Stuart Herbert wrote:
> Ned Ludd wrote:
> > What are some of the things you would do to try and
> > accomplish this goal?
>
> In order to raise money, we need a budget - a target to focus folks on.  The
> budget depends on where we hold the event, when, and what we do at the
> event.  We need to tackle that, and build a ballpark figure.  It also
> depends on how many are attending, and whether or not everyone needs
> financial assistance to attend.  There's a lot to do there - including
> convincing Gentoo devs to attend (not taking that for granted!) - we'll need
> to build a team to handle the work between us, make sure it's transparent,
> and that we're planning an event that Gentoo devs will want to be part of.
> There are going to be folks in the wider Gentoo community who can help make
> this happen - we'll be looking to engage them, and get them involved too.
> We're going to need folks on the ground in different countries, because part
> of the fundraising will probably require meeting donors face to face.
>
> Another important point, before we can set a budget, is scope.  Should this
> be a dev-only event, or should it also include something for Gentoo users
> too?  That would change the whole dynamic; the size & content would change,
> the overall budget would change, and we could use attendee charges to help
> assist Gentoo devs attending.
>
> When it comes to assisting devs ... what are the rules to qualify for
> assistance?  Are they means-tested?  Do they depend on what you do for
> Gentoo, or how long you have been a dev?  Should we run an 'adopt a dev'
> sponsorship campaign, where we ask users to donate to assist a named dev?
> Is there another assistance scheme we could use instead?
>
> I am making a fundamental assumption here that we should be assisting devs,
> so that they can attend.  That needs looking at.  Maybe we don't actually
> need to do so.  Maybe we shouldn't be doing so.  I think we should, but
> there hasn't been any sort of debate about this.
>
> Once we have our estimated budget, we need to raise the money.  Here, there
> are issues to sort out.  I'm unclear about the financial (and, tbh, legal)
> situation of the Foundation, and I doubt I'm the only one.  Even before we
> start figuring out how to raise the money, we need to ensure that the
> Foundation has the capability of handling the money, and the financial
> controls in place to ensure that the money does not get mis-appropriated.
>
> Actually raising the money ... we need to identify different sources of
> money, and pursue the right strategy for each source.  Some sources include:
>
>    - our users,
>    - companies that make money from Gentoo,
>    - companies that use Gentoo,
>    - the wider Linux community, who like our docs and our forums and
>      our willingness to help folks from other distros
>    - the media, and other folks who have things they could sell to
>      folks @ the conference
>    - foundations and trusts that exist to donate money to appropriate
>      causes
>    - local and national governments and their agencies
>    - folks who don't use Linux at all
>
> I'm sure that there are more that we can find.
>
> We could just do what the local hospital does ... we put a big
> target-o-meter in a prominent place, and appeal to people's conscience to
> help it move up from zero to what we need.  Has the advantage of being a
> clear and easy-to-digest concept to sell.
>
> Companies are traditionally tackled through the "sponsorship" approach.  We
> could just hope that companies sponsor our conference out of the goodness of
> their hearts - it's worked for the UK conferences to date :) - but a more
> successful approach would be to create a valuable package for a sponsor to
> buy into.  When I say "package", I'm not talking software.  I'm essentially
> talking marketing - taking their currency in exchange for giving them value
> in return.  It'll take us numerous iterations to get this one right, but
> longer-term it'll be a more successful approach than simply handing round
> the begging bowl.
>
> The Foundation's legal status could have a bearing on the fundraising.
> We'll need advice on exactly where we can accept money from, and in what
> amounts.  I know Freenode are affected by this; at this moment in time, I
> don't know whether we are also affected by this or not.  It's worth asking
> the question of whether we should organise this directly through the
> Foundation, or whether a separate legal entity would be more appropriate.
>
> Speaking of which ... simply getting folks worldwide to donate to the
> US-based Foundation misses out on some sources of funding.  The UK (for one)
> runs a scheme called Gift Aid, where tax can be reclaimed on money donated
> to UK charities.  Although it would create an administration overhead,
> establishing a world-wide network of local Gentoo Foundations would
> longer-term increase our ability to raise money.  Such a network would also
> allow us to cast a wider net, and apply for funding from sources within each
> country, and would also make it easier for local businesses to donate to
> their national Gentoo charity / not for profit.
>
> Let me sell that idea another way.  Imagine going to www.gentoo.org/donate/,
> and being presented with a form for you to donate money.  The first page,
> there would be a dropdown box, allowing you to indicate which country you
> reside in.  When you select your country, we would take you to a second
> page, which would be a localised donation form for your country, which would
> take advantage of whatever tax breaks your country offered.  We make sure
> that the money goes into your country's Gentoo bank account, where the local
> trustees become responsible for it.
>
> Establishing this local charity network is a massive undertaking, and it's
> unlikely to be in place in time for the 2007 conference.  But it's worth
> doing in the longer term, not only because we can raise more money than by
> having a distant Foundation in the U.S., but also because a local charity
> can also do local educational things with Gentoo - and that will keep
> bringing in new blood to our ranks.  It's not just about the money - it's
> about building a global organisation to take Gentoo from the Internet and
> into local communities.  And without having to try and establish a
> commercial arm, to compete with the other distros.  We remain a community
> distro, and we get to widen our community far beyond the propeller head ranks.
>
> To increase the chance of success, we need Gentoo's PR machine fixing (work
> has started on that today, interested volunteers should knock on frilling's
> door), and that will probably have a knock-on effect on www.g.o's homepage.
>   We need to make Gentoo more accessible to the folks in the media, and we
> need to improve the understanding that we are truly a community distro, and
> all that being a community distro means.  We need a PR machine that can
> create the right associations in people's minds, so that they feel more
> inclined to part with their money.  We need a PR machine to "sell" Gentoo as
> a concept, and as a movement.
>
> One thing I haven't done yet is get in touch with the organisers of other
> events.  There are plenty of people who have been successfully running
> international conferences for years; their experience and advice will help
> us a lot too.
>
> Why do I think I'm the right person to make this happen?  (You haven't
> asked, but it seems appropriate to include here).  First, I'm proposing to
> act when no-one else is.  My apologies if I've missed it, but I'm not aware
> of any existing trustee, or any candidate for this year's election, who is
> proposing that we do this.  From other open-source projects that I'm
> involved with, I've seen first-hand that there is no substitute for folks
> having met and spent time with each other to resolve communication problems.
>
> I've never run a legally-formed charity, but I have repeated experience of
> setting up and running volunteer organisations, and departments and teams
> within commercial organisations spanning back 14 years.  I have run my own
> business.  My roots are in free software.  I've been maintaining GPL'd
> software since 1994; first of which was to create dialog-0.4 specifically
> for Slackware 2.0.1.  (No, this does not mean that I'll be accepting bugs
> against dialog ;-)  dialog is the tool that manages the text-based UI for
> nearly all Linux text-based installers; lxdialog included in the kernel is
> derived from it.
>
> I setup the successful Gentoo UK conference, which has now been running for
> three years.  I'd like to now take things to the next level, and create a
> world-wide conference for all our devs.
>
> I really believe that we can create an international conference - *if* we
> want it enough - and make it a recurring event.
>
> Best regards,
> Stu
-- 
Ned Ludd <solar@g.o>
Gentoo Linux

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