Hi again,

I have almost completed all the paperwork to get The GIMP Foundation up and running. The last slightly compliciated bit left is to get the bylaws finished.

I have a draft version of the bylaws that need a few gaps filled in. I've put it here: http://www.phasevelocity.org/bylaws.doc These bylaws get sent with the rest of the paperwork (and the filing fee) to the IRS to get tax-exempt status.
This copy of the bylaws is pretty standard stuff, with parts that need filling in, highlighted in red. We are, of course, free to change the bylaws at anytime in the future (within certain limits), but we do need a copy of the bylaws, and a first board meeting held within the rules of those bylaws, where the bylaws are formally approved by the board.

Here are the things left to do.

Within a week I need to get the parts in red of the draft bylaws fleshed out at at least the majority satisfiaction of the community. In addition to the red parts, the membership section needs to be writtin.

I need to appoint an initial board, whose job will be to set up a membership system, start collecting members, and allow those members to vote in a non-interim board (any takers?)

I need to send in the corporate paperwork to the IRS (with the filing fee) and wait a few months for the IRS to send some "questions" answer those questions, and wait a few more months to get our non-profit status approved.

Instead of all this though, I've been talking to Tim Ney about having the GNOME Foundation take a more active role in supporting the GIMP. If GNOME was willing to do this, this would probably be a good option for us. Gnome already has the infrastruction and ability to act as a non-profit, as well as plenty of corporate suppport. What do people think of this plan?

--
Daniel

P.S. Real life is taken over recently. I have a new child on the way, my wife is almost finished with school, I'm looking at grad schools, and I have a practical need to focus my work on the bits that I get paid a regular salery for. This means I have very little time for gimp related stuff recently. In fact, I'm looking to get TGF (or whatever this becomes) handed off to a competent interim board as soon as I can.

Daniel Rogers wrote:

So, I noticed the resounding silence surrounding this thread. Is anyone still interested in a foundation? I went into this foundation thing thinking I had support from the community. I cannot do this all by myself. The Foundation is about getting involved. If noone wishes to get involved, then there is nothing left I can do.

Here are the things left to do.

Within a week I need to get the parts in red of the draft bylaws fleshed out at at least the majority satisfiaction of the community. In addition to the red parts, the membership section needs to be writtin.

The week is gone, obviously, but this still needs to be done. I just lose legal support for a while after a few days, which is ok. I just slows things down a bit. Do these issues interest anyone in particular?

I need to appoint an initial board, whose job will be to set up a membership system, start collecting members, and allow those members to vote in a non-interim board (any takers?)

To be a little more clear: I need volunteers to be an initial board of directors.

I need to send in the corporate paperwork to the IRS (with the filing fee) and wait a few months for the IRS to send some "questions" answer those questions, and wait a few more months to get our non-profit status approved.

Instead of all this though, I've been talking to Tim Ney about having the GNOME Foundation take a more active role in supporting the GIMP. If GNOME was willing to do this, this would probably be a good option for us. Gnome already has the infrastruction and ability to act as a non-profit, as well as plenty of corporate suppport. What do people think of this plan?

Again, to be a little more clear. GNOME would like to support us more than just in name. All we (e.g. more than just me) have to do is say yes. It is unclear, at this point, how exactly GNOME would be involved with The GIMP, but those details could be worked out. Does this interest anyone? Is anyone outright opposed (and why)?

-- Dan

Michael Schumacher wrote:

Daniel Rogers wrote:

Daniel Rogers wrote:

So, I noticed the resounding silence surrounding this thread. Is anyone still interested in a foundation? I went into this foundation thing thinking I had support from the community. I cannot do this all by myself. The Foundation is about getting involved. If noone wishes to get involved, then there is nothing left I can do.

Well, I started to read the bylaws and was overwhelmed a bit. Being totally unfamiliar with stuff like this, I found it a bit too much to read, comprehend and evaluate in one week... maybe this happened to others as well?

Ah, well. . .err, um. Fair enough. I forget that I've been stewing in this stuff for month. Most of this is boiler plate and echos the laws that we are required to follow anyway. If anyone is overwhelmed by any bit of it, it is just fine to discuss what you want in normal person terms.

I need to appoint an initial board, whose job will be to set up a membership system, start collecting members, and allow those members to vote in a non-interim board (any takers?)

>

To be a little more clear: I need volunteers to be an initial board of directors.

Might be an important question: does one have to live in the US to be able to become a director? (and/or president, secreatary, treasurer, ...)

No. As I think I mentioned before you don't need to live in the US or even have to be 18 (though you have a hard time entering contracts if you are less then 18 so 18 is a practical requirement). It gets complicated if TGF tries to employ non-us people (though it can be done), however the directors should probably not be compensated anyway.

And to clarify: there are two structures that must exist in a corporation. There is the board of the directors, which make general descsions, are voted in by the members, can enter contracts, hire people, and delagate tasks to others. The number of directors as well as the amount of directors that qualify as a quorum and the percentage that qualifies as a majority can all be set in the bylaws.

The second structure is the officers. These are the people like the president, tresurer, and secratary. The duties of these officers are set in the bylaws. The president usually is respnosible for hiring and the day to day activities of the corporation. The tresurer is in charge of the finances. The secretary records the minutes of the board meetings. The board members can be officers and are generally appointed by the board. The president or the secretary can not be same person as the tresurer.

--
Dan

Michael Schumacher wrote:

Carol Spears wrote:

On Sat, Apr 24, 2004 at 09:44:49AM +0200, Marc A. Lehmann wrote:

On Fri, Apr 23, 2004 at 08:00:17PM -0700, Daniel Rogers wrote:

I've put it here: http://www.phasevelocity.org/bylaws.doc These bylaws

Woaw, the bylaws for a free software organisation, written in a proprietary microsoft format!

this summed up my feelings very well.

Might be another reason for lack of feedback.

Dude. The lawyer gave me doc. Open office read it fine. I didn't think it woudl be a problem. I used open office to make a pdf. It's at http://www.phasevelocity.org/bylaws.pdf

did they discuss file formats with you when you discussed this at the gimp convention?

Maybe something about this is in the minutes of the last GIMPCon. Anyway, are there any suggestions (or requirements?) for an official format for all TGF documents. PDF seems reasonable.

She is just trying to goad me, so I tried to ignore her. It is not an official document yet, but yes, I agree that PDF is reasonable for all TGF documents.

--
Dan