[kde-usa] KDE U.S. NPO

[Steve Hay]

Apologies for the short and delayed email; I have been attending family
matters (good stuff--my brother is graduating from Berkeley and I am on
travel out in San Francisco with family). I just wanted to provide some
input into the discussion really quickly, and then when I get back will
start working on something more substantive:

   1. I think it is possible to KDE to self-sponsor a 501(c)3, and merits
   treatment in any proposal that was made to the board. However, I think it
   introduces complexity the Board would probably rather not have to deal with.
   2. What Jeff is saying about addtional patent protection I agree with. A
   key factor in this decision is the additional protection and services
   provided by SFC, and whether KDE opts to enjoy this benefit. However, I
   think there is another angle worth considering. The SFC provides active
   support to the OSS community in the US, and the legal center appears to
   provide services to everyone. It is difficult to imagine any legal or
   position the SFC would take that KDE would not be aligned with, and
   regardless of the direct benefits to KDE, supporting and joining SFC is a
   powerful statement about KDE's commitment to the FOSS movement in the US.
   3. 5%-10% cuts are very consistent with industry standards for fiscal
   sponsorship, so neither of these organizations are charging unreasonable
   fees. Additionally, both sponsors make it pretty easy to terminate
   sponsorship, so I do not see much risk in going forward immediately with
   one of these choices in order to achieve movement and facilitate US
   fundraising efforts.
   4. It is a valid question whether these sponsors impose any authority
   over KDE, and this is worth looking into. However, based on what I have
   read so far, it seems like the risk actually is in the other direction. The
   sponsors assume some risk by placing us under their wing, and are somewhat
   responsible for ensuring subordinate activities are consistent with their
   non-profit objective.
   5. I am not the ideal person to reach out to US developers, because I
   don't really know any. My involvement in KDE thus far has been limited and
   tangential. Perhaps someone like Alex Spehr (?), who seems to know a lot of
   people, might be able to provide good points of contact or gauge US
   developer opinions, if we were to write a survey.


Steve
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