From: Linux Intl
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: Introducing the Linux Development Grant Fund
Date: 13 Nov 1994 15:51:55 +0200
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Lars Wirzenius)
Message-ID: <3a55lr$52b@kruuna.Helsinki.FI>
The Linux Development Grant Fund
"Linux will remain free. Help us help Linux to become a market force"
Thousands of people use Linux, many thousands. They know it works well,
they know it is free. Linux will remain free, because:
* the copyright says so
* the people that develop it say so
* companies make money from it being free
Linux International is a worldwide, non-profit organization devoted to
promoting Linux development and its growth in the marketplace. A lot of
people have asked about how to donate money or other things to Linux in
the last three years, and some have done so. We thank those who have
already contributed to Linux in this way.
Linux International is pleased to announce a way of making a formal
donation to Linux. The goal of the Linux Development Grant fund is
simply to collect and distribute money to developers to help them in
their work on Linux.
We have worked hard to get a fair way of distributing the money, and will
make sure that anyone in the world can find out what has happened to it.
Donations will be collected into a pool and used to award Linux
development grants - specific amounts of money for specific development
projects. Anyone can make such a request.
About the Grant Fund
There are three Grant Fund board members at any one time, who have the
job of deciding where the money should go. Board members may serve no
more than one year on the board and successors will be appointed in a
democratic manner. The first board members are well-known in the Linux
community: Matt Welsh, Michael K Johnson and Ian Murdock. All the grants
that they award will be published in comp.os.linux.announce.
Anyone may submit a grant request for a specific Linux development
project. Grant requests must meet certain conditions; for example,
grants must be used to directly fund a Linux development project
(through the purchase of hardware, or documentation for example). Also,
the software developed by projects that have received funding must
be covered by the GNU General Public License. This will make sure that
the project benefits both the Linux community and any others who are able
to use it.
Further information on making submissions is available by sending an
email message to:
grant-submissions-info@li.org
The existence and operation of the Grant Fund can be verified by contacting
Ernst & Young in Australia on +619 429-2222 and requesting to speak to
Mr Laurie Cook.
Making a Donation
Simply fill in the form which accompanies this announcement!
We plan to have official Linux International donation points in many
countries, with many donation methods. At present, however, there are
just three ways to transfer money to the Grant Fund: check/cheque,
international money order, or credit card. 100% of the money donated
to the grant fund will be used to award development grants. Linux
International does not retain any portion of the funds.
People sending credit card details by email are encouraged to encrypt
their email using Linux International's public PGP key. This is to
prevent unauthorized access to your credit card details. Linux
International's public PGP key can be obtained by fingering
donations@li.org
Donors are also encouraged to include their email address so a thank-you
note can be sent to them. (Once the donation has been processed and the
message has been sent, all personal records will be deleted.) Linux
International also plans to periodically publish a list of donors to the
Grant Fund (the option to exclude yourself from this list is available.)
Linux International looks forward to helping improve Linux through
the Grant Fund. We expect a good response, both in funds and in comments
which will help ensure the Grant Fund serves the Linux community.
We commend the Grant Fund to all who have an interest in the bright
future of Linux.
Patrick D'Cruze
Secretary
Linux International
donation-comments@li.org
-----
Questions, Answers and Comments
Q1. Can I still send donations to individual developers?
A. Of course! Linux is Linux, and our best wishes to those who have a
project that they are able to support directly.
Q2. Are donations to the Grant Fund tax exempt?
A. Not yet. Corporate donations can usually be counted as a normal
business expense. This will of course depend upon the tax laws of your
country.
Q3. What currency is best?
A. The Grant Fund is pretty flexible and should be able to cope with
any currency that people care to send. If you have a choice, US dollars,
Deutchmarks, Pounds Sterling or Australian dollars will allow us to save
money on currency conversions.
Q4. Can I send cash to the Grant Fund?
A. No! Please don't. The chances of the money arriving are very small.
This is an unfortunate fact of life.
Q5. What if the donation gets lost in the mail?
A. Provided you don't send cash, this shouldn't matter. While Linux
International cannot take responsibility for what happens to postal
mail or electronic mail this is just a normal risk.
Thankyou for your donation, on behalf of Linux!
Donation Template
Name:
Email address:
Fax number:
Value of Donation: __,___.__
Currency of Donation: American dollars: _
Australian dollars: _
Belgium francs: _
Canadian dollars: _
Dutch gilders: _
French francs: _
German deutchmarks: _
Japanese yen: _
UK pounds: _
Other (please specify):
Please find my donation enclosed: _
Please charge my: Visa: _
Mastercard: _
American Express: _
Credit Card number:
Expiry Date:
Name of Cardholder:
Exclude your name from the list of donors
that will be published periodically? Yes, do exclude me: _
Email donations : credit card payment only
Fax donations : credit card payment only
Postal donations: credit card, check/cheque or international money order
All donor information will be kept confidential, and donation records
will be deleted once the donation has been processed.
If sending this template by email, Linux International recommends
encrypting the email message using PGP and Linux International's public
PGP key. Linux International's public key can be obtained by
finger donations@li.org
Donors can then email their donation to:
donations@li.org
Donors can also fax this form directly to Linux International on
+619 331-2443 or, if within the USA, to ACC Bookstores on (203) 454 2582.
ACC Bookstores will then pass along your donation to Linux International.
Or post it to:
Linux Development Grant Fund
c/o Linux International
PO Box 80,
Hamilton Hill,
WA, Australia, 6163
--
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