[Projects] [OSGeo-Discuss] OSGeo finances

[Angelos Tzotsos]

Hi Even,

The income information was never available on the budget wiki pages as 
far as I know.
I will discuss with the board to provide feedback.

Thank you,
Angelos

On 3/10/25 17:40, Even Rouault wrote:
> Hi Angelos,
>
> thanks for the honest update on the situation. What is missing 
> probably for community members to fully appreciate the situation is 
> the income part of the budget (planned 2024, actual 2024, planned 
> 2025). I can't find it in OSGeo_Budget_2025)
>
> Even
>
> Le 10/03/2025 à 14:33, Angelos Tzotsos via Discuss a écrit :
>> Dear OSGeo community,
>>
>> In February 2026, OSGeo will celebrate its 20 year anniversary. In 
>> these two decades it has seen incredible growth, from the number of 
>> incubated projects, to the proliferation of Local Chapters, to the 
>> number FOSS4G conferences around the world, as well as the constant 
>> increase in the number of participants to these conferences. Without 
>> a doubt, the community has significantly expanded and, in many 
>> aspects, it has become successful. However, the current situations 
>> brings compelling challenges that the Foundation must address, one of 
>> which is clearly the financial aspect.
>>
>> The 2025 budget has been discussed and was recently approved 
>> (https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OSGeo_Budget_2025 / 
>> https://www.loomio.com/d/W2qoQdbB/osgeo-budget-2025/1) and it brought 
>> important cuts almost everywhere. To SAC, to OSGeo projects, to the 
>> marketing committee and others. Furthermore, it is not the first year 
>> that the requested amounts could only be partially approved, delayed 
>> or even denied and every time, the decisions were not easily taken. 
>> Thus, it is safe and sad to say that today, the OSGeo Foundation is 
>> under-funded and without fundamental changes, the risk of collapse 
>> due to its own success is real.
>>
>> It has become more obvious after the COVID pandemic: the combination 
>> of almost complete dependency on the financial success of the yearly 
>> global conference, coupled with the lack of structure and agreements 
>> between the OSGeo Foundation, Local Chapters and local and regional 
>> FOSS4G conferences is having dangerous consequences on the budget. 
>> Even more, given that the Foundation relies solely on volunteers 
>> (except for a very limited amount of consulting fees for SAC) and 
>> that it has no professional staff, is a significant hindrance when it 
>> comes to attracting and retaining sponsors.
>>
>> We want to assure the community that addressing this situation is a 
>> top priority for the OSGeo board and we have started to work on 
>> drafting potential changes on the current structure, financial setup 
>> and status that would curve the current trajectory and would allow 
>> the Foundation to serve its community on the long run. In the near 
>> future, the board is planning a dedicated meeting for which your 
>> participation, as well as your suggestions are more than welcomed.
>>
>> On behalf of the OSGeo Board,
>> Angelos
>>


-- 
Angelos Tzotsos, PhD
President, Board of Directors
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
https://www.osgeo.org/member/angelos-tzotsos/