Dear Foundation members, The 2009 yearly budget has been released. For the past couple of years the GNOME Foundation has been running a healthy surplus in contributions. As a result, year after year we have been expanding GNOME related activities and events. Last year we had the opportunity to further increase the Foundation's value to its members by hiring the highly respected Stormy Peters as our Executive Director. When that decision was made no one could have predicted the global economic downturn and the impact it would have on our industry.
While Stormy has managed to get a number of new corporate sponsors and we have enough to keep paying her for this current budget cycle, we are still projecting that without a significant influx of steady contributions we will be unable to keep an Executive Director on the payroll without cutting into the activities budget. As the economy persists on this roller coaster of ups and downs, the Foundation is rolling with the punches and looking for ways to best serve our members. While we can look at this downturn as a time to tighten our belts, I would much rather look at this as an opportunity for the community to take a stake in the future of the Foundation and show that we are not exclusively reliant on corporate coffers to grow GNOME. If you haven't donated in the past, now is the time to start by becoming a Friend of GNOME or donating at any of the contribution levels. If you do currently donate to GNOME, look to see if you can contribute a tiny bit more on a monthly basis. Every little bit helps. Remember these funds go to programs like hackfests and putting on local conferences. It also goes to paying for our staff of two who along with the part time and overworked board construct the strategies for facilitating the growth of GNOME. The Foundation has served us well over the years and will continue to serve us regardless of the outcome of the current economic climate. The real tragedy would be to no longer have the funds to retain Stormy's services. Stormy's contributions in kicking our butts to finish ongoing projects as well as start new ones and bringing in new streams of funding are remarkable in themselves, and even more so in the current climate. Losing Stormy now would be sort of like having this shiny new plane but neglecting to build the runway long enough for it to take off. The best of what Stormy has to offer has yet to be seen. I can tell you for a fact that without her the Foundation will be less effective in its mission. Please go to the Friends of GNOME site at http://www.gnome.org/friends/ to donate. We need your ongoing support. Donations allow us to accelerate the adoption and development of GNOME while our paid staff allows us to be more effective with those donations. Whatever you can give will ensure the continued good works of the GNOME Foundation. Thanks on behalf of the Board, John (J5) Palmieri
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