[Debian-sponsors-discuss] Debian fundraising thoughts.

[Tollef Fog Heen]

]] "Dr. Michael Meskes" 

> > > > 5) I feel like those sponsors who are sponsoring DebConf are really
> > > > sponsoring Debian, and as such, should be recognized as such. One
> > > > thing I have observed that seems an interesting model here, is that
> > > > the Linux Foundation has Platinum, Gold and Silver memberships, with a
> > > > fixed annual set of dues, that do not change. One of the benefits of
> > > > becoming a paid Linux Foundation member is discounts on sponsorship of
> > > > their conferences. I think this is a great model, and wonder what it
> > > > would take to do the same for Debian?
> > 
> > To me, this sounds too complex.
> 
> How's that? I mean, this doesn't seem to be complex at all to me.

Discounts on sponsorships elsewhere depending on your sponsorship level?
That sounds complex.  Basically, «can you express it in a simple bullet
list» would be my litmus test.

> > In addition, there's some murkier ways to sponsor, like letting
> > employees fix bugs or work on packages during work hours, but trying to
> > keep track of that will basically be impossible, I think.
> 
> Shouldn't this account for something, too?

Yes and no.  How would you value the donations that the workplaces of
DSA effectively give by letting people handle emergencies?  If you value
that at market rates, even a single standby sysadmin is probably well
about $20kUSD/year, even before they do anything.  I think just valuing
the donations we are getting from hosters (in terms of bandwidth,
cooling and remote hands) is going to be hard enough even before you try
to cater to the difference in wages between different places in the
world, different competence levels between DDs, etc. There's also the
issue of ensuring the reports are accurate.

In total: I think it will get us a huge complex problem that doesn't
actually gain us that much.

> > The important word here is donations, which is slightly different from
> > sponsorship.  The limit of what the donors get back is limited to their
> > name and logo (if their donation is large enough).
> 
> I take it you mean "their name and logo mentioned on the website" or
> somesuch.  :)

Yes.

> > I like simple.  It's easier to explain, to understand and makes it
> > easier for the donors to choose the appropriate amount.  It also means
> > we don't have to spend too much time managing sponsors, we can keep most
> > of our attention on making Debian a success.
> 
> I doubt that changing the name of the baby from sponsor to donor will
> remove the time needed for managing the sponsor/donor. So what exactly
> do you mean?

Donors get less, basically.  It's a donation to a worthy case, not
buying exposure; what they get is a very small token.

Either is fine, but we should make sure we don't take on a big
bureaucratic burden that costs us valuable volunteer time unless we're
prepared for it.

-- 
Tollef Fog Heen
UNIX is user friendly, it's just picky about who its friends are