Annual Open Call for CY2027 Large Event Funding Proposals #136

New issue

Open

opened 2026-07-13 18:28:20 +00:00 by jflory7 · 0 comments

jflory7 commented

2026-07-13 18:28:20 +00:00

Owner

Summary

Establish an annual open call process for Large Event funding proposals, starting with CY2027.

Background

The Red Hat Open Source & AI Program Office supports the Fedora budget with a loosely defined pool of funds for Small Events and ongoing support costs. This works well for smaller requests that come in throughout the year. Large Events, however, are a different story. They require significantly more investment, planning time, and coordination to execute successfully. It is much harder to keep a reserve available for Large Events that come up unexpectedly mid-year.

The better we plan ahead, the easier it is to acquire more resources and shape what our budget looks like. This is especially relevant as we explore external crowdfunding options alongside traditional funding. An annual call for Large Event proposals gives us a clearer picture of community demand and strengthens our position when planning resources for the year ahead.

As a note, the Fedora Mindshare Committee documentation should eventually make this part of the budget planning process for Large Events much more explicit and clear. That is a separate documentation effort, but this proposal is the first step toward that goal.

Proposed timeline

By 27 July 2026: Create a new Large Events issue template and a dedicated repository on forge.fedoraproject.org for Large Event proposals. This facilitates a public call-for-proposals process where all review happens in the open.
27 July 2026 — 16 August 2026 (three weeks): Submission window. Announce the open call for CY2027 Large Event funding proposals on Fedora Discussion and through team communication channels. Event organizers submit proposals to the new repository using the Large Events template.
17 August 2026 — 28 August 2026: Committee review period. The Mindshare Committee reviews all proposals together in mindshare/tickets, discusses priorities, and finalizes a slate of approved events with allocated budgets.
Quarterly check-ins: Each quarter, the Committee checks in with approved event owners to confirm their event is still on track.

Small Events (equal to or less than 50 USD) and Medium Events would continue to use the existing ad hoc approval process year-round.

Approving budgets by headcount

Many event owners will not yet know the full details of their event's next occurrence during the submission window. They may not know the specific individuals who will attend. This is expected. The Committee can approve an approximate budget based on the number of people (heads) rather than specific individuals. Later, when the situation becomes clearer, event owners can fill in the specific attendees.

This is a significant shift in how Large Events are planned and will require us to rethink aspects of the current process.

What this changes

For event organizers: Predictability. Submit a proposal during the annual call, get a decision before the year starts, and plan with confidence.
For the Committee: Strategic overview. See all Large Event requests side by side and allocate resources intentionally, rather than first-come-first-served.
For the FCA: Alignment with Red Hat budget planning. Commit to specific events early enough to inform the annual planning cycle.

What this does NOT change

Small Event and Medium Event requests continue year-round with the current process.

Important: Large Events will not be funded outside of the annual open call. This includes events with a history of Fedora participation, such as FOSDEM, SCaLE, DevConf, FOSSAsia, and All Things Open. Each of these needs an event owner to step up and submit a proposal during the CfP. Event-level sponsorship may also be considered for select events, but this is not guaranteed. Only Small Events and Medium Events can be supported with sufficient lead time during the year.

Scope of work

While this idea originates from Regional Event Support, making it happen requires collaboration across the full Committee:

Regional Event Support leads (@jflory7, @theprogram): Create the new repository and issue template, draft the call for proposals announcement, define evaluation criteria, and shepherd the review process.
All Committee members: Review and vote on proposals during the decision period, ensuring geographic and community diversity in our event investments.

Proper communication and outreach about this policy change for Large Events is important, but secondary to executing the launch of the call for proposals on time.

Outcome

An annual open call gives the Fedora community a transparent, predictable path to propose Large Events, and gives the Mindshare Committee the lead time needed to plan resources strategically.

_{Assisted-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context)}

## Summary Establish an annual open call process for [Large Event](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) funding proposals, starting with CY2027. ## Background The Red Hat Open Source & AI Program Office supports the Fedora budget with a loosely defined pool of funds for [Small Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/small/) and ongoing support costs. This works well for smaller requests that come in throughout the year. [Large Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/), however, are a different story. They require significantly more investment, planning time, and coordination to execute successfully. It is much harder to keep a reserve available for [Large Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) that come up unexpectedly mid-year. The better we plan ahead, the easier it is to acquire more resources and shape what our budget looks like. This is especially relevant as we explore external crowdfunding options alongside traditional funding. An annual call for [Large Event](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) proposals gives us a clearer picture of community demand and strengthens our position when planning resources for the year ahead. As a note, the Fedora Mindshare Committee documentation should eventually make this part of the budget planning process for [Large Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) much more explicit and clear. That is a separate documentation effort, but this proposal is the first step toward that goal. ## Proposed timeline 1. **By 27 July 2026:** Create a new [Large Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) issue template and a dedicated repository on forge.fedoraproject.org for [Large Event](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) proposals. This facilitates a public call-for-proposals process where all review happens in the open. 2. **27 July 2026 — 16 August 2026 (three weeks):** Submission window. Announce the open call for CY2027 [Large Event](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) funding proposals on Fedora Discussion and through team communication channels. Event organizers submit proposals to the new repository using the [Large Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) template. 3. **17 August 2026 — 28 August 2026:** Committee review period. The Mindshare Committee reviews all proposals together in mindshare/tickets, discusses priorities, and finalizes a slate of approved events with allocated budgets. 4. **Quarterly check-ins:** Each quarter, the Committee checks in with approved event owners to confirm their event is still on track. [Small Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/small/) (equal to or less than 50 USD) and [Medium Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/medium/) would continue to use the existing ad hoc approval process year-round. ## Approving budgets by headcount Many event owners will not yet know the full details of their event's next occurrence during the submission window. They may not know the specific individuals who will attend. This is expected. The Committee can approve an approximate budget based on the number of people (heads) rather than specific individuals. Later, when the situation becomes clearer, event owners can fill in the specific attendees. This is a significant shift in how [Large Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) are planned and will require us to rethink aspects of the current process. ## What this changes - **For event organizers:** Predictability. Submit a proposal during the annual call, get a decision before the year starts, and plan with confidence. - **For the Committee:** Strategic overview. See all [Large Event](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) requests side by side and allocate resources intentionally, rather than first-come-first-served. - **For the FCA:** Alignment with Red Hat budget planning. Commit to specific events early enough to inform the annual planning cycle. ## What this does NOT change - [Small Event](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/small/) and [Medium Event](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/medium/) requests continue year-round with the current process. **Important:** [Large Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) will **not** be funded outside of the annual open call. This includes events with a history of Fedora participation, such as FOSDEM, SCaLE, DevConf, FOSSAsia, and All Things Open. Each of these needs an event owner to step up and submit a proposal during the CfP. Event-level sponsorship may also be considered for select events, but this is not guaranteed. Only [Small Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/small/) and [Medium Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/medium/) can be supported with sufficient lead time during the year. ## Scope of work While this idea originates from Regional Event Support, making it happen requires collaboration across the full Committee: - **Regional Event Support leads (@jflory7, @theprogram):** Create the new repository and issue template, draft the call for proposals announcement, define evaluation criteria, and shepherd the review process. - **All Committee members:** Review and vote on proposals during the decision period, ensuring geographic and community diversity in our event investments. Proper communication and outreach about this policy change for [Large Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/) is important, but secondary to executing the launch of the call for proposals on time. ## Outcome An annual open call gives the Fedora community a transparent, predictable path to propose [Large Events](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/mindshare-committee/events/requests/large/), and gives the Mindshare Committee the lead time needed to plan resources strategically. <sub>_Assisted-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context)_</sub>

jflory7 added this to the 2026 Q3 Team Goals milestone

2026-07-13 18:28:20 +00:00

jflory7 added the

Rows
Columns