As some of you know (but the newer members may not), a not-for-profit
association in Australia known as Friends of OpenDocument Inc. handles
the finances for OOoAuthors, among other groups.
The income for OOoAuthors comes almost entirely from sales of printed
copies of our user guides through Lulu.com. We are now consistently
earning between USD 100-200 per month, mostly from sales of the Getting
Started and Writer guides.
Expenses are those related to production of the books; this past
financial year included the purchase of a block of 100 ISBN, which
should keep us going for a few years. Three copies of each book are
required for legal deposit for copyright purposes, and occasionally we
send out review copies.
I have now posted the 2007-2008 financial report for the OOoAuthors
account: http://www.friendsofopendocument.com/newsite/?page_id=58
The surplus funds are approximately AUD 3,500 (and more has been earned
since the end of June). Setting aside AUD 500 for expenses, that leaves
approx. AUD 3,000 (equivalent to USD 2500 or EUR 1700, in very round
numbers).
I think it's time to consider how we might want to spend some or all of
our money. It should be on something OOo-related.
Here are some ideas that come to my mind:
* Sponsor something related to OOoCon, such as contributing to the
travel expenses for a financially disadvantaged attendee.
* Pay expenses for an OOo presence at some conferences or exhibitions:
for example, cost of booth materials (handouts, banner, etc) or travel
expenses of a volunteer booth being.
* Buy our own books and donate them to libraries or schools or other
worthy places.
Comments? You may have some other good ideas that haven't occurred to
me. (And a request: when replying, please trim the note above, rather
than sending back the whole thing.)
--Jean
