PyPA funding

[Sam Penrose]

Hello!

Does PyPA have an organizational structure that allows it to receive donations?

Thanks,

Sam

[Jannis Leidel]

Not as such but given its closeness to Python core development I’m sure we could use the Python Software Foundation (a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization) to receive donations. We’d have to ask someone from the PSF board I guess (Nick Coghlan maybe?) if that’d be possible.

The bigger question is what to do with such donated funds (PyPA grants?).

Jannis

[Nick Coghlan]

(sorry for the belated reply, I don't look at pypa-dev very often)

Sam actually contacted the PSF Board first, and that was the problem we had - while we can help with the logistics of accepting financial contributions, we can't do much unless there's someone on the PyPA side in a position to *be* funded (probably through the grants program).

NumFOCUS actually have a good approach to this [1,2] that we think might be interesting for the PSF as well, but that's currently on the "maybe" list rather than being something we're actively pursuing.
 

Regards,
Nick.

[1] http://numfocus.org/projects/index.html
[2] http://numfocus.org/projects/join-as-project.html

[Jannis Leidel]

> On 19 Nov 2015, at 07:17, Nick Coghlan <ncog...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Saturday, 7 November 2015 04:22:24 UTC+10, Jannis Leidel wrote:
>
> > On 06 Nov 2015, at 18:34, Sam Penrose <sampe...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hello!
> >
> > Does PyPA have an organizational structure that allows it to receive donations?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Sam
>
> Not as such but given its closeness to Python core development I’m sure we could use the Python Software Foundation (a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization) to receive donations. We’d have to ask someone from the PSF board I guess (Nick Coghlan maybe?) if that’d be possible.
>
> The bigger question is what to do with such donated funds (PyPA grants?).
>
> (sorry for the belated reply, I don't look at pypa-dev very often)
>
> Sam actually contacted the PSF Board first, and that was the problem we had - while we can help with the logistics of accepting financial contributions, we can't do much unless there's someone on the PyPA side in a position to *be* funded (probably through the grants program).

IIRC the grants program is tied to specific people which would make funding PyPA effectively paying a freelance developer who happens to work on PyPA projects. Having been involved in various associations, including being a DSF board member, I’m personally skeptical how PyPA could offer any more structured form of funding at this moment. It’s a loosely organized group of people, not an actual organization with a legal representation. As such I would recommend to the PSF to consider PyPA project funding to be handled similarly to other Python based projects that go through the PSF grant program.

Sam, I think it’d be best to talk to specific people in the PyPA if they need funding and then work with the PSF to help them receive the funds via the PSF grant program.

Note, of course I’m certainly not speaking for the whole PyPA project, as that’s not the way we operate. If there is interest in organizing a more formal (and legal) representation of PyPA to receive funding from 3rd parties that I just don’t know about we should talk about it.

> NumFOCUS actually have a good approach to this [1,2] that we think might be interesting for the PSF as well, but that's currently on the "maybe" list rather than being something we're actively pursuing.

Sure that seems sensible, but again, even if the PSF would receive donations for PyPA, where and how would that money be spent? AFAIK we haven’t had much financial needs (hosting etc is provided to us for free or paid by individual PyPA members) and paying contributors is another topic that comes with all kinds of legal and financial questions.

Jannis