"Friends of GNOME"

[Tim Ney <ten gnome org>]

Many museums and other non-profits have various categories of members
and friends who support the activities of the organization by paying an
annual membership fee.  In return, they typically get one or more gifts
and/or public acknowledgement of their gift.

The GNOME Foundation is considering the creation of a donor program
which will be similar to those for other non-profit organizations.  This
will allow more individuals to contribute to the project by creating a
way in which individuals could donate money and be acknowledged.

This "Friends of GNOME" category would not impact the voting rights of
the current membership, rather it would be an additional way for
individuals to show their support for GNOME. People could join by
filling out an envelope at shows and conferences or, printing and
returning a form from the website, or by signing up on-line.

We have put together some ideas for how we may structure this "Friends
of GNOME" Program, but we are interested to hear feedback and
suggestions from the community.  Here are our ideas so far:

1) We will call the program "Friends of GNOME" and
contributors will be called "Individual Donors".

2) We will include the existence of this program in the GNOME
Foundation's by-laws.

3) There will be six levels of contributors.  Their titles and
associated donation levels are:
  * Friend:     up to $24.99
  * Benefactor: $25.00 -  $49.99
  * Associate:  $50.00 - $249.99
  * Sponsor:    $250.00 - $999.99
  * Booster:    $1000.00 -$4999.99
  * Partner:    $5000.00 or more

4) To recognize the generosity of the gift, contributors will receive:

  *  Friend:
        * Receive recognition of their contribution on the GNOME
          Foundation web page, indicating their contribution level.
  *  Benefactor:
        * Benefits of "Friend"
        * Receive a GNOME mouse pad
  * Associate:
        * Benefits of "Benefactor"
        * Receive a GNOME coffee mug 
  * Sponsor:
        * Benefits of "Associate"
        * Receive a GNOME t-shirt
  * Booster:
        * Benefits of "Sponsor"
        * Receive a GNOME polo shirt
  * Partner:
        * Benefits of "Booster"
  	* Receive framed print of GNOME foot

5) The donor status will be treated as a one-year subscription.  After
one year, donors will be asked to renew.

6) We will allow individuals to make donations at shows and conferences,
and also provide either an electronic or paper form on the web.

All constructive feedback and suggestions are welcome.

GNOME Foundation Fundraising Committee
  Tim Ney
  Miguel de Icaza
  Dan Mueth

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