Re: [Debconf-team] Sponsors update
On 07/11/12 11:55, Raphaël Walther wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> I am writing about CHF 39k sponsorship money committed and the venue.
>
> First, I came to this project when I read the news :"On February 20,
> 2012, the DebConf committee decided that DebConf13, the Debian developer
> conference of 2013, should take place on the shores of the Lake
> Neuchātel in Switzerland, most likely in the middle of August." [1]
>
> Now the difficult part is that we raised CHF 39k for Vaumarcus and CHF
> 1k for Interlaken (CHF 1k which are venue independant). All the material
> was ready for Vaumarcus, sponsorship brochure and cover-letter and selling
> a project with an undefined venue is more difficult. That why I decided to
> stop talking and to act.
>
> Now, if we choose another venue, we would need to ask each committed
> sponsors again with the risk that they walk away. So, it is still
> possible but it could have a cost to the project.
>
Hi Raphaėl,
If you were a sponsor giving 5,000 CHF or even 25,000 CHF to DebConf,
would you be doing that because you value the Debian project or because
you value the location?
I would contest that the reason sponsors are giving this money is
because of the great work of the wider Debian community and also because
of the effort made by people like yourself to promote it. The venue is
probably not in the front of their minds. This applies particularly for
regular sponsors (like Matanel, our first platinum sponsor for DC13) who
give money no matter which venue or country we go to, even in Nicaragua.
The only sponsor that is really likely to insist on a location is a
tourism agency or canton: that could be the silver bullet that seals the
deal for any one particular location. Looking at Darst's figures, if
Neuchatel offered about 25k CHF and if Bern offers 0 CHF (which is
currently the case, as we have no offer from them), and if DebCamp was
removed, that would make both venues neutral for ~ 200 sponsored attendees.
Regards,
Daniel
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