'tis the season for giving: An Annual Appeal

[GNOME Foundation <director gnome org>]

Greetings, 

Mara Cristina sees GNOME in action every day.  As coordinator of
Telecentros Cantinho Feliz (Saude) in Brazil, Mara helps young children,
teenagers, parents and unemployed workers from one of the poorest
neighborhoods in São Paulo. Sitting side by side, these new users of
GNOME in the community computer center she oversees are no longer left
outside the Information Age. 

In 2003, hundreds of thousands of new users have been able to cross the
digital barrier by taking advantage of GNOME in settings such as the
Brazilian Telecentros and schools in Extremadura, Spain.  Local GNOME
developer support groups have been formed in Chile, India and Germany.
GNOME Foundation acts as the liaison and contact point for development
and adoption. 

Now is a good time to make a donation to GNOME Foundation. 

GNOME Foundation needs the financial support of individuals such as
yourself. You can help support the foundation's activities bringing
GNOME to the developing world and subsidizing the participation of young
developers and students in the annual GNOME Users and Developers
European Conference (GUADEC). One developer, for example, who sold his
laptop to travel to GUADEC was given funds by GNOME Foundation to help
replace his machine. 

While the foundation receives corporate support, such funds have become 
especially hard to come by and collect in the past year.  Yet, requests 
to the foundation for assistance have grown.  Sending one GNOME hacker
to give a demo and  tutorial at a conference or university can have a
tremendous impact.   

How can you help? 

You can help by becoming a Friend of GNOME or by upping your current
Friends level. Contributions can be made on-line, via PayPal, at 
<http://www.gnome.org/friends/>. 
All contributions are tax-deductible in the U.S.

If you prefer to make a donation by check or money order, please send 
it to our new address: 

GNOME Foundation 
c/o Novell, Inc. 
8 Cambridge Center 
Floor 5 
Cambridge, MA 02142  

Thank you in advance for your support. 

Best wishes for the New Year, 

tim 

Timothy Ney 
Executive Director 
GNOME Foundation 


**Remember, to qualify for a charitable tax deduction in 2003, you must 
make your donation by December 31st.**  Every donation is important.