[Ambassadors] Budget April 1 - May 31

[Max Spevack]

Hi there Ambassadors:

Let's talk about how budget is going to be allocated for Ambassadors, 
events, and media for the next 2 months.

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KEY ITEM #1 TO UNDERSTAND:

Red Hat's fiscal year 2009 begins on March 1, 2008. It ends on February 
28, 2009. From a budget point of view, it is divided into four quarters:

     * Q1: March 1 - May 31
     * Q2: June 1 - August 31
     * Q3: September 1 - November 30
     * Q4: December 1 - February 28

During each of these quarters, we start with a $12,000 USD budget for 
"global events and swag".  This number can be tweaked a little bit, but 
for planning purposes we should keep that number in mind.

If we don't spend the money, it disappears at the end of the quarter.

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KEY ITEM #2 TO UNDERSTAND:

Certain events have been given "special priority" and allocated a 
separate budget from the $12,000 USD general fund.

For the current year, these events are:
 	FISL (Brazil -- April)
 	LinuxTag (Berlin -- May)
 	FUDCon (Boston -- June)
 	FUDCon (Somewhere in Europe -- September or October)
 	FUDCon (LCA in Australia -- January)
 	FOSDEM (Brussels -- February)

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Q1 (March 1 - May 31)

We have already spent about $2,800 for various events, including FOSDEM, 
an OLPC for EMEA, NOTACON, and some leftover FOSS.in expenses.

This means that we have about $9,000 left to allocate.

Looking at the events page, there are 2 events in North America that we 
still need to support, 4 events in South America, and somewhere between 
1-3 events in Europe.

That is one consideration.

A second consideration is that in May, we will need to produce CDs, 
DVDs, and USB keys for Fedora 9, for use at events, and possibly for 
supporting the Free Media project (which we have done in the past).

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DECISIONS THAT WE MUST MAKE:

How can we allocate money to organizers in regions, and allow them to 
prioritize their own shows?  Rather than having FAMSCo decide an exact $ 
amount for each show, it's better to give a lump sum of money to the 
organizers in each region, and let them divide it up.

How do we make sure that our limited resources can allow people in all 
regions to be successful?  Where can we use money set aside for the 
"large events" to help with smaller events in the region.

For example, a lot of money is being spent to produce various media and 
swag for FISL.  It seems reasonable to think that extra could be 
produced, or that there will be leftover, that can be used at other 
shows in South America.

The same idea applies for LinuxTag.

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Here is what I would like to do:

For each region:

1) Identify a "media production person" who will be responsible for 
taking the Fedora Art Team's designs and finding the BEST PRICE POSSIBLE 
to create LiveCDs, DVDs, or USB keys in that region.  Then be 
responsible for getting that swag to the events where it is needed.

In North America, I have been this person.  I'll do it again for Fedora 
9, but that will probably be the last time, since I'm going to be in 
EMEA soon.

2) Identify a Red Hat contact (or contacts) in each region who might be 
able to help with local office funding for swag.  It never hurts to ask.

3) Figure out a general breakdown of funds for each region, and that 
allows the local Ambassadors to figure out how to support each 
event and the need for swag/media to share across events.

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A FIRST DRAFT:

North America	-- $2,500

South America 	-- $2,000

Europe -- $1,500

Asia -- $3,000

This should allow us to support the shows that are listed on the Fedora 
Events page for the rest of Q1, and also give local Ambassadors freedom 
between swag, an initial batch of media, etc.

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Your thoughts and comments are encouraged.