Re: GNOME.conf.au and sponsorship

[Jeff Waugh <jdub perkypants org>]

<quote who="Davyd Madeley">

> I received today a request for travel sponsorship to GNOME.conf.au.
> Obviously, GNOME.conf.au, being run as a no-money event (where we charge
> no entry, but all the facilities we require are provided for us by
> linux.conf.au).
> 
> It seems to me that sponsorship to this event should really be handled by
> linux.conf.au, but I was wondering if the Foundation saw any place for
> itself here.

My linux.conf.au 2007 lead organiser hat is very firmly on for this reply
(and I'll mention some things that Davyd already knows, just so everyone
else can understand where I'm coming from).

linux.conf.au is a community-focused, non-profit conference held by a fresh
volunteer team, in a different Australasian city each year. It is one of the
world's very best. You're all too late to submit for the 2007 CFP (suffer in
your jocks), but you could always come down for GNOME.conf.au. For three
years now, it has been one of the best miniconfs (community organised
streams) supported by the main conference.

The miniconfs are not funded (aside from basic venue, signage and so on) and
are not allowed to source sponsorship independently from the main conference
organisation. Most of the miniconfs don't need sponsorship anyway, so this
might seem unnecessarily fascist -- however, we have to work around multiple
events harassing potential sponsors, and inappropriate commercialisation of
the miniconfs (such as a miniconf being run by a company, for their own
interests). Mostly, it means "no banners, no advertising, no naming rights".

However, miniconf organisers can work with the main conference organisers to
sort out sponsorship issues, should they arise. For instance, agreeing that
a sponsor can support travel/accomodation for a particular person at a
miniconf, but being visible as a sponsor as the main conference, etc.

So, the simple answer from linux.conf.au's point of view is this: We don't
have the money to sponsor miniconf participants -- we already invest *lots*
(seriously *LOTS*) of money in travel/accomodation for the main conference.

In terms of the Foundation, while it can't sponsor "GNOME.conf.au", there is
no issue whatsoever with the Foundation funding travel/accomodation for an
attendee (much like a company will pay for a staff members to attend, but
this would not be considered "sponsorship").

Thanks,

- Jeff

-- 
linux.conf.au 2007: Sydney, Australia           http://lca2007.linux.org.au/
 
                      Hunch, n.: U.S. Foreign Policy.