Community Investment Top-up
Context
There's an annual budget that gets approved by the OSGeo Oceania Board of Directors, you can find it in the OSGeo Oceania Google Drive (OO Board > Governance > Finance > Budget ONGOING).
The line item for "Grants and Sponsorships" is AUD$5,000 - which means that the Grants Committee has AUD$5,000 to work with.
We've already spent or committed about AUD$8,000, which is over the previously approved allocation of funds. You can see the current expenditures in the Xero Management Report February 2024 (Let me know if you need help logging into Xero), on the "Profit and Loss" page you can see under "Operating Expenses" a line for "Microgrants" and another one for "Sponsorship (Expense)".
There are also funds that have been committed but not spent yet, such as retaining our QGIS sponsorship, funding GeoGeeks meetings, etc.
Problem
The total already spent is AUD$5,226. Including committed funds, it's closer to AUD$8,000.
Proposed Solution
I propose that the OSGeo Oceania Board allocate an additional AUD$5,000 for "Grants and Sponsorships" in the 2023/24 budget.
Result
Additional funding will cover committed grants and sponsorships and provide about AUD$2,000 additional uncommitted funding for any new grant applications or sponsorship opportunities.
Poll Created Sat 17 Feb 2024 3:31AM
Increase funding allocation for grants and sponsorships Closed Sat 24 Feb 2024 3:00AM
Proposal passes after concerns we're addressed.
What is the decision you need to make?
OSGeo Oceania Board allocates an additional AUD$5,000 for "Grants and Sponsorships" in the 2023/24 budget.
Why is this important?
Allocated funds are overspent: the total already spent is AUD$5,226. Including committed funds, it's closer to AUD$8,000.
What are you asking of people in this proposal?
Vote to provide more funding to support community initiatives.
If you have an Objection, please say why and propose a change to the proposal that makes it safe.
Results
| Results | Option | % of points | Voters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Consent | 80.0% | 4 |
|
| Objection | 20.0% | 1 |
|
|
| Undecided | 0% | 4 |
|
5 of 9 people have participated (55%)
Rafael
Sat 17 Feb 2024 3:31AM
I would like before we start voting on this to go back to question I asked last time, have a budget allocation and decide what is the budget we have available for 2024, how much is conference going to cost , how much is left for sponsorship
Alex Leith
Sat 17 Feb 2024 3:31AM
Happy for this to go ahead.
For Rafael's information, I don't think the Hobart event will have significant expenses before it has income. I also don't think we need to wait for next financial year's budget before we allocate more funds to grants this FY.
John Bryant
Sat 17 Feb 2024 3:31AM
Our income for FY23-24 is less than expected, but I feel our bank balance is strong enough to handle this extra expenditure (which is practically speaking <$2k above what has already been spent/committed), and I see grants as a top priority.
By doing this we'll have enough to cover a few more microgrants, should they come in.
John Bryant Sat 17 Feb 2024 6:01AM
Here is the link to the doc: Draft FY2025 budget planner (with 2024 actuals)
Alex Leith Sat 17 Feb 2024 6:05AM
No need to assume the budget was approved, it was approved on Loomio https://www.loomio.com/p/9eXMakq2/osgeo-oceania-budget-2023-24
John Bryant Sat 17 Feb 2024 6:08AM
One detail to add - the budget anticipates a total of $7000 in grants & sponsorship, if you include $2000 allocated to OSM & QGIS under "SIGs".
Elisa Puccioni Sat 17 Feb 2024 7:42PM
I’ll abstain to vote here, as I’m the one spending this money and clearly in favour of more budget for grants.
Ewen Hill Sun 18 Feb 2024 5:41AM
Hi @Elisa Puccioni, whilst you have an interest in this area, it is not a financial interest in any project you are directly or indirectly linked to or taking reward financially so, I don't see a reason that you shouldn't vote. Could I ask that a current list of grants for the financial year are provided here and an update in the board agenda so we are clear where we have delivered to please? Unless we find alternate funding sources, I think we are close to maxing out, especially if we have Hobart travel grants to fund
John Bryant · Sat 17 Feb 2024 5:49AM
@Rafael the budget Jonah linked in this thread is for our current financial year (ending 30 June 2024). It has $5000 for Grants and Sponsorship. The finance committee (me, Jonah, Alex) has been working on the year-to-date numbers in the last few days in preparation for 2024-25 budget planning, that would probably be useful context to add to this discussion. I'll add it now and share the link.