[Board] Motion: Support visit to meet with the emerging Vietnam Chapter with funding

[Frank Warmerdam]

Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:
> Hi Arnulf, a few more questions came to mind regarding this type of
> motion and related future motions in general.  Geoff's email also
> mentioned a few things that I think should be addressed.
> 
> Is the hope to operate this as a one time support or something ongoing
> for others in the future?

Tyler,

This motion was a one time thing.

> Will the board be putting together a policy that will guide these
> decisions for future use?  And will the policy apply to others who are
> not on the board or are only directors entitled to use it?

It would be desirable to have a policy to guide future spending
decisions of this sort.

> There has historically never been a budget item for this expense, and no
> director or president has ever requested funding before.  

I don't think this is strictly true (that there has never been such
a request before), but I am not aware of OSGeo handling the request
by a board level motion to provide funding.

 > If added to
> the budget, to what amount are you prepared to spend annually on this?

I personally feel this sort of outreach activity should be treated
as part of our marketing activity and come out of that budget with
decisions made by the marketing committee.

> Do other directors have travel costs in mind?  What other future events
> are on the radar?
> 
> Conflicts of personal interest are always important concerning
> nonprofits and its directors, as noted during the 501c3 application:
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Conflict_Of_Interest_Policy
> Someone will eventually ask about how you ensure that corporate benefits
> are not gained by directors when they are supported to travel on OSGeo
> business - pointing to the existing policy should help.  When directors
> fund their own travel it is never an issue, but as soon as we send
> representatives who also have their own companies, I have no doubt it
> will pop up (either by the community, or from the IRS).  Previously it's
> been a simple "we don't do it" response.

Since Jeff is "throwing in" days of his own time, I cannot imagine
there is a serious question of his taking advantage of OSGeo's support
in this situation.  However, out of an excess of caution I think it
would be good for him to declare a potential conflict of interest, and
to abstain on the motion.

> Personally, I'm not concerned about the costs of this motion, but see a
> potential pandora's box without an adequate policy being developed.

I don't really see it as a Pandora's box, but I would prefer to see
this addressed via the marketing committee in the future as a promotional
activity.  They ought to think about how much they are willing to provide
for this sort of activity.

Best regards,
-- 
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I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | Geospatial Programmer for Rent