2013 Fundraising and local companies

[Will LaShell <wlashell gnome asia>]

Hello,

I want to take this time to bring up an old point. I know I keep talking 
about this every year so bear with me if you've heard this 100 times.

Fundraising is a difficult task every year. It is not made easier when 
we have had our challenges with delays and problems with venue 
confirmation. We have gotten more adept at handling this task over the 
years but there is an area we must seek to improve upon. We need to work 
harder at sourcing funds local to the Summit's host city and country.

We are always looking for that magic international sponsor that will 
donate 5, 10 or 15k USD  to the Summit. Those funds are becoming much 
more difficult to get, given the unstable global economy. Instead we 
need to additionally look at getting 10 small sponsors who are willing 
to give $500.  We have a lot to offer a small / medium business that 
wants to get their name, logo and company profile out on an 
international stage.  You cannot buy the organic inbound traffic to 
their own websites that the GNOME.Asia Summit website could drive to them.

We need to be creative in our fundraising. We must also be persistent. 
We need to make calls and pound the streets (or at least phone and 
email) letting people know that the Summit is coming and that they 
-want-  to be  a part.

Karen has been a great help, just as Stormy was before, at leveraging 
the GNOME Foundations strategic partners. It is our duty to respond in 
kind, with our efforts at local fundraising.  If you need ideas on how 
to approach companies or assistance in some way, just ask! The Summit 
Committee will help.

Sincerely,

Will