-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Based on the discussion on the list including Christian's note that said: The current platinum sponsors of ISOC are Afilias Limited, APNIC, ARIN, Microsoft, RIPE NCC, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Most of these sponsors, including Microsoft, designate their funds for "standard activities". These standard activities are typically IETF related, but they are not necessarily managed through "the IETF". The current list includes: RFC Editor, scholarship funding for needy IETF participants to attend meetings, activities of the IAB, IESG, IRTF, special workshops of the IETF, travel for IETF related activities, "errors and omissions" insurance coverage for IESG, IAB, and Working Group Chairs, communications charges for conference calls of the IAB, IESG, and IRTF. Forcing a particular bank account structure does not appear helpful. What is helpful, on the other hand, is a yearly report explaining how the contributions are actually used. Even large companies like Microsoft don't like signing $100,000 checks without knowing how the money will be spent. I'd like to suggest that section 5.6 be changed to read: As an initial guideline and in normal operating circumstances, the IASA should be able to count on an operating reserve for its activities sufficient to cover 6-months of non-meeting operational expenses, plus twice the recent average for meeting contract guarantees. Rather than having the IASA attempt to build that reserve in separate accounts, the IASA looks to ISOC to build and provide that operational reserve, through whatever mechanisms ISOC deems appropriate: line of credit, financial reserves, meeting cancellation insurance, and so forth. Such reserves do not appear instantaneously; the goal is to reach this level of reserves within 3 years after the creation of the IASA. Such funds shall be available for use by IASA for use in the event of IETF meeting cancellation or other unexpected fiscal emergencies. Under current conditions it is highly unlikely that an IETF-specific surplus will be developed anytime soon, so I do not think its necessary to spend too much time planning for what to do with one (which I think is what Leslie was saying). In round numbers, the expected budget for the IETF-related activities next year is $4.1 million US (that includes $1.4 million for running meetings and $2.7 million for all other expenses including the IAD, secretariat costs, insurance, RFC Editor, IESG & IAB support etc). If the attendance at the meetings and the meeting fees stay the same, the meetings will bring in about $2 million. That leaves about $2.1 million for the ISOC to pick up. This is about half a million more support than the ISOC budgeted this year, and a bit over double ISOC's 2003 figure. Clearly, any donations to the ISOC like the ones that Christian mentions, that specify that the donations are to be used to support "standard activities" would have to only be used to support standard activities. But it is likely to be a while before such designated donations could exceed the IASA costs that the ISOC will be responsible to cover. Regards, Fred Baker /=====================================================================/ | Fred Baker | 1121 Via Del Rey | | Chairman, ISOC BoT | Santa Barbara, California | +--------------------------------+ 93117 USA | | Nothing will ever be attempted,| phone: +1-408-526-4257 | | if all possible objections must| fax: +1-413-473-2403 | | be first overcome. | mobile:+1-805-637-0529 | | Dr. Johnson, Rasselas, 1759| | /=====================================================================/ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP 8.0.3 iQA/AwUBQcpgUG4xHWxyLJtDEQLMEgCgju6Dt1YLmcDEGwpYWN2Ki3wl4B8An1dn 0vSraJ2dVBR1WaWUGOHS8x7N =YYYa -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf