Note to the Reader: This page is a collection of notes about a nonprofit entity supporting the promotion of Puppy, and is meant to describe the organization prior to its formation. The matching Forum post is here∞.
(Lots of revisions as of 11 September 2005 by RaffyM)
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
The General Public License (GPL) which generally governs software used in Puppy envisions freely distributed software.
However, the development and promotion of software entails cost, and a formal structure that will help ensure its sustainability is essential.
A nonprofit structure can generate income from the sale of Puppy products and services that members/volunteers make available, and pool a fund for developing and promoting its core product, Puppy.
There are broader and more grandiose issues in software, such as monopoly practice vs innovation, etc, but the General Public License and similar licenses have become enabling mechanisms to change the situation. It is up to volunteers to start and support software solutions, such as Puppy.
At the same time, many people feel that computing has inherent advantages that must be shared with as many people as possible.
Puppy Nonprofit volunteers acknowledge that action is needed along these directions, so in joining, they dedicate themselves to these lofty goals while using Puppy in their products and services and donating part of their income to the organization.
OBJECTIVES
End-user benefits will guide the objectives of the organization, both short-term (as in being able to do computing with a low-cost PC) and long-term (as in being able to evolve local computing platform for different applications and organizations in different countries).
POSSIBLE STRUCTURE
Local laws as to structure and initial funding of the organization will apply. Normally, there will be officers such as President, Secretary and Treasurer, and the Board or Council from which these officers are elected..
The two esential clauses of being nonprofit are given below as examples (from ato.gov.au/nonprofit∞):
Non-profit clause
The assets and income of the association shall be applied solely in furtherance of its above-mentioned objects and no portion shall be distributed directly or indirectly to the members of the association except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the association.
Dissolution clause
In the event of the association being dissolved, the amount that remains after such dissolution and the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall be transferred to any association with similar purposes which is not carried on for the profit or gain of its individual members.
From the same source, a useful quote is: "A non-profit organisation can still make a profit. However, any profit it makes must be used to carry out its purposes."
(In my view, grants and donations to entities for specific purposes may constitute the use of profit as described above.)
MEETINGS
Members' discussions and meetings will be run in the current message board. Items for decision can be put to vote in that board. If the Board (Council) wants some privacy in discussing certain matters, it may choose to create a private forum or mailing list.
POSSIBLE PROJECTS
The Puppy solution becomes more tangible with a computer unit, and computer units become lower in cost when offered by a nonprofit as well as procured from suppliers in large numbers. The organization will oversee this logistics aspect of Puppy.
1. Rejuvenated Puppy - old PCs/laptops running Puppy.
2. Thinpc - thin clients running the Puppy PC.
3. System Conversion - conversion of computing services to Puppy-based solution.
Nonprofit members will serve the warranty for the delivered units, and offer continuing services for troubleshooting and upgrade (both hardware and software).
RELEVANT LINKS
In the Wiki: Puppy Foundation; Foundation Goals; Puppy Store
In the Forum:
Puppy for Digital Divide Projects∞
About Open Source Movement and Puppy∞
CategoryCommunity