This explains how to request refunds and what can be funded by SPI Co-Author: Stefano Sabatini <stefa...@gmail.com> --- doc/spi.txt | 73 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 73 insertions(+) create mode 100644 doc/spi.txt
diff --git a/doc/spi.txt b/doc/spi.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..ff4af8f42b --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/spi.txt @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +SPI (Software in the Public Interest) is a non-profit corporation +registered in the state of New York founded to act as a fiscal sponsor +for organizations that develop open source software and hardware. For +details check here: +https://www.spi-inc.org/ + +FFmpeg is an SPI associated project and donations can be collected and +handled by SPI on behalf of FFmpeg. For details about the association +check here: +https://www.spi-inc.org/projects/ffmpeg/ + + +How to request refunds from SPI: +-------------------------------- +Send a mail to ffmpeg-devel with the [REFUND-REQUEST] tag and a short +description of the refund topic in the subject. + +In the mail, you also need to provide the amount to be refunded, with +a short description of how the money was spent. + +There is no need and is not recommeded to send receipts when sending +the refund request on the ffmpeg-devel mailing-list, but they are +usually needed later when the request is approved and the refund +request is sent to SPI: +https://www.spi-inc.org/treasurer/reimbursement-form/ + + +What can be payed by SPI: +------------------------- +FFmpeg money collected at SPI can be used for any purpose which is in line with +501(c)3 nonprofit rules, and within our mission (Free & OSS software). + +In practice we frequently payed for travel and hardware. +For other refund expenses or sponsorships, it is recommended to +discuss them beforehand on ffmpeg-devel. If there is a community +agreement on their approval, the current FFmpeg liaison will followup +to get an approval on the SPI side. + + +Is it possible to fund active development by SPI: +(the texts below have been taken from multiple + replies FFmpeg has received from SPI, they have been edited + so that "I" was replaced by "SPI" in some cases.) +------------------------------------------------- +Paying for development *does* require substantial +additional paperwork, but it is not prohibited. + +Several SPI projects pay contractors for development +efforts. SPI needs a contract in place which describes the work to be +done. There are also various things SPI needs to check (e.g. are they a +US person or not, as with GSoC mentor payments; are they really a +contractor and not a employee). + +SPI can't deal with employment at the moment because that involves a +lot of work, like health insurance, tax withholding, etc. Contractors +are easier because they have to take care of that themselves; Whether +someone is a contractor vs employee depends on various factors (that +of course are different in every country) and can be disputed (see +e.g. the debate about whether Uber drivers are employees); SPI has a +questionnaire about their circumstances.) + +Unfortunately, there's no one-size-fits all when dealing with contractors. +As already mentioned, without knowing the contributor's country + +SPI does have templates, but they depend on the contractors country. If it's +US, Australia, France and a couple others SPI could provide them next day, +otherwise SPI would need to ask their attorney to draft one, which would +take some time + +Also, SPI has two models, MSA (which transfers ownership) and CSA (which +grants a license instead). SPI usually sends the MSA (it's better for most +purposes), but for development purposes, some projects prefer that the +contractor retains ownership rights. -- 2.17.1 _______________________________________________ ffmpeg-devel mailing list ffmpeg-devel@ffmpeg.org https://ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-devel To unsubscribe, visit link above, or email ffmpeg-devel-requ...@ffmpeg.org with subject "unsubscribe".