[Fundraising] sponsor relation points / non-project-directed funding

[Arnulf Christl]

Dave McIlhagga wrote:
> Hi Jo,
> 
> Speaking from the Foundation fundraising standpoint, I think we are 
> still a ways off from consideration of approaching Google - and if they 
> did sponsor some specific initiative -- that would make a broader pitch 
> after the fact that much easier.
> 
> I can't really speak from the project-funding perspective however.
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> Jo Walsh wrote:
>> dear fundraisers,
>>
>> I was talking to a friend of mine who is now with Google UK about the
>> OSGeo geodata repository project and the ad-hoc research work on
>> simplified metadata/discovery that it has wound up encouraging. He 
>> suggested that I apply to Google for sponsorship of some library
>> development and packaging work, that they'd be receptive to this stuff.
>>
>> Now before I start working on a one-page proposal / running this by
>> participants, I wanted to sanitycheck here about who else is talking to
>> Google about what and whether this idea makes anyone go 'eek!'
>> Potential conflicts of interest?
>>
>> - are Google likely potential candidates for gold sponsorship?   I 
>> would definitely want to pitch this as "an OSGeo application" but
>>   don't want to muddy the waters with others maybe talking to them.
>> - Google funded Geoserver (and by extension GeoTools?) to implement a
>>   KML connector recently. Part of the repository work involves wanting
>>   to improve more OWS client libraries in different languages -
>>   specifically I would want to support improvements to SeanG's OWSLib 
>>   as it's about the closest to GeoTools in python and we've been using 
>> it a lot. cheers,
>>
>>
>> jo

Google is a large beast to talk to. As with any large dragon it also has several heads (each with its own brains and many with rather little knowledge of the other). We would currently have a hard time trying to talk to each of them so I do not see a problem in at least talking to those who actually bow and listen to us. Yes, we have to make sure to keep track of who is addressing which aspect of potential Google sponsorship. 

The "pitch dimension" is fixed anyway, the top category is 50K (FunCom has so decided and it was approved). 

I must say that I am rather tired of hearing "still a ways off from consideration of approaching", its the same story that made us keep FunCom inactive for the past months. 

Best regards,