Re: recruiting sponsors

[Brian Cameron <Brian Cameron Sun COM>]

Dave:

Dave Neary wrote:
> Stormy Peters wrote:
>>
>>    What would people think of a 10% finders fee for individuals or
>>    companies that brought in sponsors?
>
> Honestly, I don't like the idea. It seems so mercenary. Plus, we would
> no longer be in the position of seeking out companies strategically
> aligned with the project for advisory board seats.

I do not think it needs to be interpreted as being mercenary.  The GNOME
Foundation has a need for raising money, and if this is presented in the
right way, it could be an opportunity for small business to be created
in a Free Source environment, which is something that I think even
Richard Stallman encourages.[1]

Aside from creating some mechanism of compensation for people who do
the footwork, I think it encourages people to seek out smaller
organizations and individuals who might be interested in participating
in the GNOME community, but are "below the radar" currently.

I think the concept of donating to GNOME does not need to be tied to
an AdBoard seat.  It probably makes the most sense to address AdBoard
membership on a case-by-case basis, and whether the individual or
organization would have a meaningful role in a forum like AdBoard.

That said, I think a 10% finders fee is reasonable.  Though such a
program might benefit from having a more structured set of options.
Perhaps, for example, first-time donation finders get a higher
percentage to encourage people to start thinking about participating
in such a program.  Or perhaps a sliding-scale percentage rate based
on whether the person is a Foundation member or not, or based on the
size of the contribution which was found.  Perhaps larger donations
should be awarded smaller percentage amounts.

Brian

[1] http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html