Simon PooleAug 11, 2023

The downsides of being frugal.

The #OpenStreetMap Foundation spends, even with a slightly more ambitious budget this year than previously, less than %1 of what WMF/Wikipedia does, but is struggling to make ends meet.

There is no threat a la the infamous Wikipedia ads that the project will shut down, but without the funds activities will have to be cut back significantly.

If you consider OSM valuable consider https://supporting.openstreetmap.org/

OpenStreetMap Foundation – Supporting the work of the OpenStreetMap project

Show threadDerick RethansAug 12, 2023
@simon I'd be helpful if there was a drive or a goal to strive for each year.
Show threadSimon PooleAug 12, 2023

@derickr well that depends on the budget naturally. Essentially donations need to be total budget - membership fees - any surplus from conferences.

This year that is £500'000 and a bit. See https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Board/Minutes/2023-02/Budget

Board/Minutes/2023-02/Budget - OpenStreetMap Foundation

Show threadDerick RethansAug 12, 2023
@simon Sure, but put that up and front. The current membership recurrent payment is only through PayPal which isn't appropriate.
Show threadSimon PooleAug 12, 2023
@derickr you need to discuss that with @grischard ... but I suspect the gist is that the OSMF is happy to have at least one payment processor at all.
Show threadGuillaume Rischard
@simon @derickr indeed. We've tried a few, from Mollie which had the rudest customer service and almost stole our money, to Wise who blew a fuse when we had non-paying members in countries not under sanctions but they considered dodgy. Huge drain of volunteer time, hugely thankful to current banks and providers.
Aug 13, 2023 at 11:39amWeb
Show threadDerick RethansAug 13, 2023
@grischard @simon Wouldn't Stripe subscriptions work for most countries though? Works a treat for my use case.
Show threadGuillaume RischardSep 16, 2023
@derickr @simon we tried Stripe for a few days just now. For some reason donations fell, both in numbers and amounts. Visible dip in the graphs. No idea why!
Show threadDerick RethansSep 16, 2023
@grischard @simon As an additional option?
Show threadGuillaume RischardSep 17, 2023
@derickr @simon nah just one option. The page and form are overly complicated anyway, and people have no idea whether they want Stripe or Mollie