Scope & Objectives

In January 2020, the Samvera Partners voted to adopt a new Contribution Model which sets minimum financial contribution levels for Partners, to be phased in over a period of 2½ years. These financial contributions will be used in support of common community needs and to hire central coordinating staff, starting with a Community Manager and eventually a Technical Manager if and when funding allows.

In this context, Steering has formed the Samvera 2020 Fundraising Team (FT) to oversee and carry out fundraising activities for the Samvera Community during calendar year 2020, including the following:

Follow through on the annual funding appeal to Samvera’s Partners and Supporters, working with Lyrasis as Samvera’s fiscal sponsor and in the context of phased implementation of the new Contribution Model.
Continue to explore how funds might be raised from sources beyond current Partners and adopters. Even with full implementation of the Contribution Model, annual revenues will not be sufficient to support two employees along with other operating costs; it seems likely that we need to look beyond our immediate Community for income. The Team will follow through on any leads for raising funds.

The work of the FT builds on the work last year of the Samvera Fundraising Working Group and Contribution Model Working Group and touches on the work of the Samvera Marketing Working Group and potentially others. It is expected that the FT will liaise with Samvera WGs and Steering as appropriate.

The team should consult the October 2019 Fundraising Working Group Final Report and other artifacts of 2019 fundraising activities as needed.

Deliverables & Timeframe

April 7, 2020: First meeting
April 20, 2020: Recommendations, including suggested texts, for continuing 2020's fundraising amongst Samvera Partners and Supporters, complementary to a wider fundraising effort and to Lyrasis’ fundraising communication plans. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the fundraising cycle being started early - before the Team's first meeting.
May+: meetings to discuss other funding ideas
Early summer - early fall: Follow up on unpaid invoices through direct outreach
Partner meeting, April 2020: Interim report out of activities to date for feedback
Partner meeting, Samvera Connect, October 2020: Integrated report combining all the above into an annual cycle.

The team is will review its charter, membership and on-going tasks early in 2021, prior to the new year’s fundraising cycle.