Summary

• Page properties (3 modified, 0 added, 0 removed)

Details

Page properties

Title

...	...	@@ -1,1 +1,1 @@
1		-Snowdrift.coop Sponsorship Proposal
	1	+Snowdrift.coop incubation

Author

...	...	@@ -1,1 +1,1 @@
1		-XWiki.pmasson
	1	+XWiki.wolftune

Content

...	...	@@ -1,43 +1,82 @@
1	1	{{toc/}}
2	2
3		-= Start Date =
	3	+= Scope =
4	4
5		-Snowdrift.coop started in any sense in fall 2012 and formally incorporated on the state level in August 2013. Full operations as planned have not started yet. We hope to get fiscal sponsorship with OSI to support our continued work as soon as possible (Ideally September 2015).
	5	+Snowdrift.coop is building a new sustainable patronage model for Open Source projects. The primary mechanism is "crowdmatching" where patrons pledge to match all the other patrons in order to built more widespread support for projects. Also, the platform itself will be governed democratically as a co-op with the patrons as members.
6	6
7		-= Initial Members =
	7	+Initial Incubator Project Sponsor (2015): Allison Randal
8	8
9		-Incubator Project Sponsor: Allison Randal
	9	+Current (2020) Sponsor: Elana Hashman
10	10
11		-OSI General Manager: Patrick Masson
	11	+Project contact: Aaron Wolf
12	12
13		-Contributors:
	13	+== Alignment with OSI Mission ==
14	14
15		-Aaron Wolf, co-founder
	15	+Snowdrift.coop is exploring new ways to build a sustainable economy for Open Source, especially for end-user products which often get neglected compared to sometimes-well-funded upstream Open Source.
16	16
17		-David Thomas, co-founder
	17	+= Incubation period =
18	18
19		-Bryan Richter, lead developer
	19	+Snowdrift.coop will graduate from incubation when ready to list the first outside project accepting formal funding pledges.
20	20
21		-Robert Martinez, lead designer
	21	+== Requirements to list outside projects ==
22	22
23		-(dozens of other volunteers around the world, and other formal members of the Snowdrift.coop [[team and steering committee>>url:https://snowdrift.coop/p/snowdrift/who]])
	23	+For an outside project to use Snowdrift.coop to receive real funds, the following must be in place:
24	24
25		-= Resources Needed =
	25	+* Backend software managing multiple project listings
	26	+* Frontend project listing presentation adequately acceptable to the maintainers of the outside project
	27	+* Legal status and policies platform approved by lawyers
	28	+* Governance and security practices meet adequate standards for a fundraising platform
26	26
27		-501(c)(3) sponsorship to facilitate grants and other large donations. We could also use assistance with studying legal and accounting questions.
	30	+== Pre-OSI foundations ==
28	28
29		-Specifically at this time, one of the co-founders is contributing substantial funds, and the tax credit from (c)(3) would translate into more funds for the project. Note: We may or may not want or need fiscal sponsorship long-term, but this proposal is specifically for sponsoring our research/prototype phase in which we primarily create public Open Source resources. During this stage, we will determine more about our prospects and best situation for potential independent 501 status.
	32	+When first approved in 2015, Snowdrift.coop already had a fake-money prototype website and well-researched notes and writings. Articles of Incorporation were filed with the State of Michigan but Bylaws and final incorporation not finished.
30	30
31		-= Deliverables =
	34	+== Progress since joining OSI ==
32	32
33		-Snowdrift.coop is prototyping a new form of cooperative community sponsorship / long-term patronage for Open Source projects. While we hope long-term to operate as a full foundation handling donations between large numbers of donors and projects, this proposal is to support the prototyping stage. At this stage, we are focused on creating, presenting, and studying the concept of a network-driven many-to-many matching pledge as a mechanism to improve overall support for Open Source.
	36	+After joining OSI in summer 2015, the branding and design were developed, and the backend software cleaned up and overhauled. Through OSI as fiscal sponsor, one full-time contractor worked alongside volunteers.
34	34
35		-We already have a prototype web platform in progress with substantial research and writings, but the design and presentation of the full pledging mechanism is still incomplete. Our goal for this stage is to have a fully-working, clear, testable platform, a project sign-up process, and continued community building to have a solid prototype. The prototype will serve both as a valuable reference and test bed for ideas around community-support for Open Source and as a foundation for then running our actual fundraising cooperative.
	38	+By fall 2016, the main funding source did not continue and the project shifted to an all-volunteer basis.
36	36
37		-= Alignment with OSI Mission =
	40	+Over the course of 2017 through 2019, progress was inconsistent. The project moved through several different project-management tools and struggled to organize work among the volunteer distributed team. Nevertheless, the design and governance got refined and simplified and alpha testing began. An animated homepage video captures the core idea better than ever.
38	38
39		-Snowdrift.coop is about the study and practical testing of ideas around creating a sustainable economy for Open Source, especially for the sorts of end-user products. Thus, we aim to help promote Open Source development downstream as it is currently most strong in developer-focused upstream projects.
	42	+== Current status ==
40	40
41		-= Target Completion Date =
	44	+Last updated March 2020
42	42
43		-We hope to complete the prototype as quickly as we can and have a fully working system with all writings, research, and policies in place by sometime in 2016, if not sooner. Our community is steadily growing, but the scope is ambitious, so setting precise dates has been difficult.
	46	+=== Alpha testing ===
	47	+
	48	+The platform itself is the first listed project: https://snowdrift.coop/p/snowdrift
	49	+
	50	+Although the ability to pledge has not been widely announced yet, the project has 118 patrons. With crowdmatching set to $1 per thousand patrons, 118 patrons are set for 11.8 cents per month for a total of $13.92.
	51	+
	52	+To avoid excessive fees, charges are delayed until multiple months add up to a few dollars per patron. At the time of this update, no actual charges have been processed.
	53	+
	54	+=== Next steps ===
	55	+
	56	+For reference, see https://wiki.snowdrift.coop/planning
	57	+
	58	+As another summary of the steps to graduate incubation:
	59	+
	60	+* Complete bylaws in place to operate as co-op
	61	+* Tax and financial status clear
	62	+* Team accountabilities filled enough for adequate security and liability management
	63	+* Solid sysadmin status
	64	+ * In progress via OSUOSL taking over systems
	65	+* Site development to support listing of multiple projects and processing of pledges and payments
	66	+* Recruit first outside project(s) and address any concerns they have prior to getting listed
	67	+
	68	+Also, strongly preferred but perhaps not necessary:
	69	+
	70	+* complete UX with email notifications of all stages of pledging process
	71	+
	72	+== Circumstances for winding down without graduation ==
	73	+
	74	+The following situations could lead to closing the project:
	75	+
	76	+* After as much recruiting as we have resources to manage, we fail to either (A) get adequate volunteers/team to push forward and/or (B) successfully recruit interested initial outside projects
	77	+
	78	+* We encounter unexpected substantial block to operations (such as a legal or technical obstacle to doing crowdmatching)
	79	+
	80	+* Another platform adequately fills the niche we're focused on or partners with us (or adopts our mechanisms)
	81	+
	82	+