@duncan that is a great idea. Anyone interested in leading this initiative and reaching out for advice? Also agree this should not be rushed.
There is another approach, instead of a community fund. Another approach is that OSArch never creates a community fund as a matter of principle, to truly promote decentralisation and grassroots initiatives. We may take the stance that any centralised fund will therefore imply centralised resource allocation, no matter how democratic we attempt to make the process. Instead, OSArch can continue to act as a brand, and a set of principles for people to follow. When there are OSArch branded initiatives, such as a training series, meetups, future hackathons, or when OSArch members are hacking on a project, we can simply document and highlight the initiative and those dedicating their time and money to it on the wiki, and people can contribute. This is akin to how charity navigators work - they direct you to the best charity to then donate directly to.
Such a decentralised manner doesn't mean we cannot raise funds like a centralised organisation. For example, let's say OSArch decides to create a paid "donor" status, like how you can be a Blender foundation donor, or Friend of GNOME, etc. Instead of how the Blender foundation works, where you donate to the foundation, instead, you can donate to any OSArch project in the directory, and evidence of the donation is used to then verify you as a donor, then we can put your name (or corporate logo) on a donors / sponsors page.
This decentralised funding (but centralised marketing) strategy also ensures no individual player gets preference, or is likely to be "over funded", so long as we document known donations as transparently as we can. It also prioritises individuals and evidence of actually doing things, not organisations and overhead.
Also, less red tape. Less lawyers. More fun. More code.
Thoughts? I don't know anybody who has tried this approach before.
