Week 29
Mon 14th Jul - Sun 20th Jul 2025
Thursday 17th July 2025
Governance Workgroup
Type of meeting: Weekly
Present: PeterE, CallyFromAuron [facilitator], UKnowZork [documenter], PeterE, CallyFromAuron, UKnowZork, Jeffrey Ndarake, CollyPride, Tevo, advanceameyaw, Effiom, guillermolucero, Alfred Itodele, Maxmilez
Purpose: Regular Weekly GovWG meeting
Working Docs:
Narrative:
In this session we explored alternative ways to support and fund the work happening within the Ambassador Programme, especially given the limitations of the current budget. Vani kicked things off by sharing a spreadsheet of ideas, including a few promising grant opportunities like an EU initiative focused on AI for Africa. She suggested subscribing to a grant database (for about €99 a year) to help surface more of these opportunities. The group was open to it, though some felt it would be good to first confirm eligibility requirements and whether it’s worth the cost.
There was a broader discussion about making sure workgroups are actively tracking funding opportunities things like RFPs and hackathons and whether someone should be tasked with flagging relevant calls to each group. People agreed that otherwise, chances could easily be missed. A few ideas were thrown around: setting up a Discord channel for deep funding updates, encouraging groups to keep "back burner" projects ready in case the right opportunity comes up, and even suggesting each workgroup think more strategically about what they'd pitch if the funding stars aligned.
The conversation then turned to a big question: could the community actually sell some of its services like Archive tool, governance tools to other projects or ecosystems? While intriguing at first, several people (including Tevo and Guillermo) raised valid concerns. Would these services be useful to outsiders? Who would actually benefit from the income? Would it support the broader mission, or just become freelance gigs for a few individuals?
Instead, we began to align around the idea of external fundraising not just for the Ambassador Programme itself, but to help workgroups find the resources they need to grow and evolve. That led to a concrete proposal: what if a temporary fundraising workgroup was formed? A team that could help identify grants, write applications, and guide other contributors through the process? Guillermo emphasized the importance of tying this work to actual results and having clear systems to show impact, especially as tools like the governance dashboard and archive system start to take shape. Some viewed it as a win, since it means people are growing, moving forward, and still contributing to the larger ecosystem. Either way, it reinforced the importance of having solid onboarding in place to keep fresh contributors coming in.
Vani and Peter floated the idea of a trial: set aside a modest budget (somewhere between $600 and $3,000, sourced from reserves), run the fundraising workgroup in Q4, and see how it goes. We discussed what kind of people should be involved ideally those with experience writing successful funding proposals, but also room for newer people who are willing to learn and contribute.
Before wrapping up, there were a few last questions: Should we focus only on deep funding, or cast a wider net? Should we reinstate the “New Ideas Budget” from reserves to test the project? How do we fairly select who leads this effort? Everyone was broadly supportive, and the next steps will likely include drafting a clear proposal outlining the scope, timeline, goals, and how success will be measured then circulating it for community feedback and consents.
Decision Items:
We agreed to explore the creation of a temporary fundraising workgroup, with the goal of identifying and applying for external funding opportunities to support workgroup initiatives beyond the Ambassador Programme’s core budget.
[rationale] To address funding gaps, unlock external opportunities, and test a focused, low-risk approach to supporting ecosystem work through a dedicated fundraising team.
Action Items:
[action] Draft a formal proposal to establish a temporary fundraising workgroup (with support from interested contributors). [assignee] CallyFromAuron [due] 18 July 2025 [status] in progress
[action] Tevo will facilitate the Town Hall next week. [assignee] Tevo [due] 22 July 2025 [status] todo
Keywords/tags:
topics covered: DeepFunding, Proposal, service, Budget, task, Proposal eligibility, Governance Dashboard, Ambassador program
emotions: detailed, collaborative, educative, fun, insightful, informative
Last updated