It's time to renew the budget so please submit your requests (for those who have not already done so).
The process is as follows: a) Submit your budget request to presid...@apache.org (see below for what is required) b) I will review requests and, where necessary, ask for clarifications/adjustments c) I will collate the budget requests and submit to the board in the next board meeting (May 21st) Note that any expenditure that is not in this budget will require separate approval from the board. However, the board is always willing to consider requests during monthly board meetings. For the annual budget my goal is to submit a budget that the board will approve on the first attempt. I will therefore shy away from any potentially controversial requests. Recently there has been significant discussion about the need to expand our operations in a number of ways. I do not feel any of these proposals are mature enough to submit at this time (though I'm happy to consider proposals if you think otherwise). I, or my successor, will continue to work with various PMCs and VPs throughout the next year to ensure any such proposals are considered once they are complete. In other words, this is not the last opportunity to submit requests. Balancing the Budget ================= Note that our budget must be balanced with our expected fundraising income. Our fundraising levels are currently at around the same levels they were last year. It would therefore be prudent to keep your requests at the same level, or lower, than last year. That being said, if there is a need for an increase please do not hesitate to contact me (via presid...@apache.org) to discuss this need. The sooner I am aware of such increases the more likely I am to be able to work with fundraising to balance the books. As a reminder previous budget information is available at https://svn.apache.org/repos/private/foundation/Finances/budgets In the coming year we will, for the first time, be actively tracking budget vs expenditure on a quarterly basis. For 2013 please contact Chris at treasu...@apache.org who should be able to produce a report of actual expenditure. Finally, note that if I do not receive a budget request in time for the next board meeting (May 21st) I will submit a budget based on my own expectations and previous years requests. Format of Budget Request ==================== Each budget request has two parts 1) the financial summary and 2) a justification for the request. For the financial summary please the format shown below (see the 2013 in https://svn.apache.org/repos/private/foundation/Finances/budgets for a complete example) : Category1 : $subtotal Item 1 :$amount1 Item 2 :$amount2 Item 3 :$amount3 Category2 : $subtotal Item 1 :$amount1 Item 2 :$amount2 For the justification I need a description of what each category and/or line represents. If the category/line exists in the 2013 request then a one or two sentence reminder will suffice. If it is a new category/line or if it has increased/decreased significantly from 2013 a more complete description will be needed. Remember, I plan to submit a budget that I feel the board will approve on first consideration. For any line that I feel unable to justify to the board I will first work with you to try and understand the proposal. If I still feel ill-equipped to justify the item to the board I will not include it, but will instead work with you to submit a subsequent request later in the year. If you have any questions please email me at presid...@apache.org Thanks, Ross
