[Qgis-user] Funding sources for QGIS development (local groups)
Alexandre Neto
senhor.neto at gmail.com
Mon Sep 8 09:07:34 PDT 2025
Quite an interesting topic, as we in Portugal still need to figure this out.
Andreas, can you elaborate on what you mentioned by member users can use
application modules? Do you guys have "private" plugins or something that
you share with members?
Thanks,
Alex
On Mon, 8 Sept 2025 at 09:05, Michał Żugajewicz via QGIS-User <
qgis-user at lists.osgeo.org> wrote:
> Andreas, Raymond,
>
> Thank you Guys for the valuable information💚 As I promised, I will
> collect all information I receive from local groups into one document and
> send it to everyone at this group.
>
> Have a nice week and stay in touch!
>
> Cheers,
>
> *MICHAŁ ŻUGAJEWICZ*
>
> CEO at EnviroSolutions | QGIS Poland Representative
> ceo at envirosolutions.pl
> +48 501 540 755
> EnviroSolutions <https://www.envirosolutions.pl>
> LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/company/envirosolutions/> | Facebook
> <https://www.facebook.com/envirosolutionspl> | Instagram
> <https://www.instagram.com/envirosolutions_team/>
>
> sob., 6 wrz 2025 o 20:03 Raymond Nijssen via QGIS-User <
> qgis-user at lists.osgeo.org> napisał(a):
>
>> Hi Michal,
>>
>> In The Netherlands we have a similar approach as well.
>>
>> Company members pay 500 euros per year, individual members 25. This
>> grants access to all meetings. Students can attend for free.
>>
>> Currently we're having around 30 companies and 140 individual members.
>> The number of members has increased quite rapidly over the last 5 years
>> (we started in 2020) and is still growing. We chose not to make a
>> difference in company size or something, it's always the standard 500
>> for freelancers or large enterprises.
>>
>> We decided to call it company *membership* because organizations
>> struggled to pay for a *sponsorship*, especially public entities.
>>
>> During the last UC in Norrkoping I gave a presentation about our user
>> group which you can watch here.
>>
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIezzpPaSqM&list=PLi6mvse6ZEOx3REy1Dr0JFOWxVOxkqEY7&index=24
>>
>> We have recently started a Signal group "super user group" for
>> discussing subjects like this, aligning the user groups and sharing ideas.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Raymond
>>
>>
>>
>> On 9/6/25 14:47, Andreas Neumann via QGIS-User wrote:
>> > Hi Michal,
>> >
>> > The situation in Switzerland is similar to Sweden. Our main income
>> > source are "memberships". We currently have about 130 members in
>> > different categories.
>> >
>> > A: provinces, large cities, large companies (1000 CHF membership per
>> year)
>> >
>> > B: smaller cities and companies (500 CHF)
>> >
>> > C: private persons (100 CHF)
>> >
>> > D: students/retired people (50 CHF)
>> >
>> > Members also get some benefits: cheaper courses at our annual event and
>> > they can vote how the available funds are spent. We have a grant system
>> > like QGIS.ORG has, and every January we vote on how the money is
>> spent.
>> > Members can submit proposals. Also, in order to use some application
>> > modules (water, waste-water, etc.) one has to be a member in the QGIS
>> > user group.
>> >
>> > About 2/3 of the Swiss provinces are members, many larger and smaller
>> > cities and quite a few private engineering companies.
>> >
>> > Like in Sweden, it is easist for public entities to become member in an
>> > association. It would be very difficult to donate, and sometimes
>> > complicated to participate in crowd fundings.
>> >
>> > However, we had some successful crowd funding campaigns as well and
>> many
>> > public administrations also participate in crowd fundings.
>> >
>> > Hope this helps,
>> >
>> > Andreas
>> >
>> > On 2025-09-04 09:59, Michał Żugajewicz via QGIS-User wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi Karl-Magnus!
>> >>
>> >> Thanks a lot for your quick reply and for sharing your perspective -
>> >> that's super helpful! We are a young association (founded in April
>> >> 2025), so it means a lot to us to learn from our more experienced
>> >> colleagues. Your advice and insights from Sweden give us valuable
>> >> ideas for our own path 💚
>> >>
>> >> After collecting feedback from other local groups, I will prepare a
>> >> summary report that I will share with everyone via email.
>> >>
>> >> Best regards,
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> *MICHAŁ ŻUGAJEWICZ*
>> >>
>> >> CEO at EnviroSolutions | QGIS Poland Representative
>> >>
>> >> ceo at envirosolutions.pl <mailto:ceo at envirosolutions.pl>
>> >> +48 501 540 755
>> >> EnviroSolutions <https://www.envirosolutions.pl>
>> >>
>> >> LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/company/envirosolutions/>|
>> Facebook
>> >> <https://www.facebook.com/envirosolutionspl> | Instagram <https://
>> >> www.instagram.com/envirosolutions_team/>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> czw., 4 wrz 2025 o 09:03 Karl Magnus Jönsson <Karl-
>> >> Magnus.Jonsson at kristianstad.se <mailto:Karl-
>> >> Magnus.Jonsson at kristianstad.se>> napisał(a):
>> >>
>> >> Hi all!
>> >>
>> >> For us in Sweden membership fees are the main income. It is easy
>> >> and not so much work for both members and board. We have tried
>> >> some crowdfunding as well, but it is a lot more work and difficult
>> >> for many public organizations (which are our main target) to
>> >> participate due to stiff budgets and procurement rules. We had
>> >> some sponsors for the international conference this year but
>> >> otherwise we do not have sponsors in that way. One thing that
>> >> probably should work well is to create a small surplus on our
>> >> national meeting and events. But we have so far decided to try to
>> >> break even on these events.
>> >>
>> >> Best regards
>> >>
>> >> **
>> >>
>> >> *Karl-Magnus Jönsson*
>> >>
>> >> *Från:*QGIS-User <qgis-user-bounces at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:qgis-
>> >> user-bounces at lists.osgeo.org>> *För *Michał Żugajewicz via
>> QGIS-User
>> >> *Skickat:* den 3 september 2025 07:07
>> >> *Till:* qgis-user at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:
>> qgis-user at lists.osgeo.org>
>> >> *Ämne:* [Qgis-user] Funding sources for QGIS development (local
>> >> groups)
>> >>
>> >> Dear Colleagues!
>> >>
>> >> I am reaching out with an interest in learning more about how
>> >> local QGIS user groups manage to secure funding and support for
>> >> the development of the software and related tools, such as plugins
>> >> and custom applications.
>> >>
>> >> Could you please share some insights into the typical sources of
>> >> funding that your group or related initiatives rely on? For
>> example:
>> >>
>> >> * Do you receive support from public institutions such as
>> >> municipalities, government agencies, or universities?
>> >> * Are there private companies, consultancies, or NGOs that
>> >> contribute financially to your activities or sponsor specific
>> >> development projects?
>> >> * Do you make use of grants, donations, or membership fees to
>> >> sustain your work?
>> >> * Have you engaged in partnerships with organizations that
>> >> benefit from QGIS to co-finance the development of plugins or
>> >> other tools?
>> >>
>> >> I am particularly interested in understanding what models have
>> >> proven effective and sustainable for your group, and whether there
>> >> are strategies or best practices you would recommend for
>> >> establishing these collaborations.
>> >>
>> >> Thank you very much for your time and for any details you can
>> >> share. Your experience could be very helpful in shaping similar
>> >> initiatives elsewhere 💚
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Bests,
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> *MICHAŁ ŻUGAJEWICZ*
>> >>
>> >> CEO at EnviroSolutions | QGIS Poland Representative
>> >>
>> >> ceo at envirosolutions.pl <mailto:ceo at envirosolutions.pl>
>> >>
>> >> +48 501 540 755
>> >>
>> >> EnviroSolutions <https://www.envirosolutions.pl>
>> >>
>> >> LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/company/envirosolutions/> |
>> >> Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/envirosolutionspl> | Instagram
>> >> <https://www.instagram.com/envirosolutions_team/>
>> >>
>> >>
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>> >
>> >
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