Sugar Labs/Governance/Transactions
Administrative transactions with the Software Freedom Conservancy
Sugar Labs is a member project of the Software Freedom Conservancy, "an organization composed of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects. As a fiscal sponsor for FOSS projects, the Conservancy provides member projects with free financial and administrative services, but does not involve itself with technological and artistic decisions." While we benefit from the numerous services provided by the conservancy, we are also under an obligation to abide by its mission--promoting FOSS projects--and work within its administrative structure. Below is a set of administrative procedures for routine transactions with the Conservancy. If you have any transactions that fall outside of those listed below, please contact the Sugar Labs executive director and/or our finance administrator.
Request for payment
Some Sugar Labs projects have a budget (e.g., Google Summer of Code). Typically there is a project leader who has put together a budget that has been vetted by the Conservancy (See #Project proposal approval). If you have incurred a project-related expense, please submit a copy of your receipt to conservancy AT sfconservancy DOT org along with a brief explanation of the expense. Please be sure to include reference to the specific project for which the expense applies.
Similarly, if you need to invoice Sugar Labs, please submit your invoice along with a reference to a project to accounting AT sfconservancy DOT org.
Please note that finances are routinely processed around the ides (15th) of each month.
Project proposal approval
If you are applying for a grant proposal and wish to include Sugar Labs as a partner, it is necessary to run your draft proposal text by the Conservancy to make sure that it is within the bounds of the Conservancy mission. Please send a draft to conservancy AT sfconservancy DOT org two weeks before the proposal is due in order to allow time for review and feedback. Proposals where the Conservancy is the lead organization will incur a 5% overhead rate to cover administrative costs.
It is customary to reference the SFC in your proposal with language similar to:
- Sugar Labs is a member project of the Software Freedom Conservancy, an organization composed of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects. As a fiscal sponsor for FOSS projects, the Conservancy provides member projects with financial and administrative services. Technological and artistic decisions about the projects' development are left up to project leaders, who are designated by a formal agreement between Conservancy and the project. In the case of Sugar Labs, we have a member-elected oversight board (See http://sfconservancy.org and Sugar_Labs/Governance).
License request
The Sugar Labs trademark policy describes the various marks and conditions of usage that are held by the Conservancy on behalf of Sugar Labs. If you are interested in using a Sugar Labs trademark, please contact conservancy AT softwarefreedom DOT org with the following information:
- a list of which marks are desired to be licensed, along with a full description of how they will be used;
- a description of the current use of any Sugar Labs marks;
- a list of any individuals or corporations that will be participating in the proposed use of the mark;
- a list of any Sugar Labs community members with whom you are currently working;
- information for a primary contact person, including email address and phone number.
Initial contact will be made within two weeks of receipt of a request.