Re: Annual Report Status?

[Dave Neary <dneary gnome org>]

Hi,

On 02/28/2012 03:08 AM, Brian Cameron wrote:
> We should consider, though, how we could better harmonize our marketing
> efforts to gain sponsors and to better simplify things. I think the
> brochures are good, but we benefit more by harmonizing them.
>
> Many advisory board members have told us that they would prefer being
> approached just once in the year and asked for a single amount. They
> have told us they do not like being approached separately for each
> event, as we have tended to do in the past. So do two brochures make
> sense?

I hope I understand you correctly - are you suggesting that the annual 
report is somehow a brochure we use for sponsor & AB recruitment?

While I think it is useful for that, because it's showing the value of 
the foundation, I don't think that's its primary purpose. I see it as 
our annual magazine, an opportunity to spread news about GNOME far & 
wide. I think that adding a donation form targeting individuals might be 
a good idea, but I don't think that mixing advisory board budgets with 
the annual report is appropriate. In fact, advisory board budgeting is 
necessarily very high-touch, hand-holding, and I wouldn't expect a 
brochure to impact that budgeting decision at all. I see the GUADEC 
brochure as being aimed at potential sponsors not on the advisory board, 
or as an infoirmational document for advisory board members.

Also, I'm not sure we're in a position now to have a one-off "what's our 
budget next year" conversation with most advisory board members. That's 
a conversation to have in August and September, when the annual budget 
is being finalised, not in March. So the GUADEC brochure may well end up 
being a useful tool for advisory board members too.

Cheers,
Dave.

--
Dave Neary
GNOME Foundation member
dneary gnome org
Jabber: nearyd gmail com