Software Carpentry Foundation: FAQ

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

As we announced two weeks ago, we are setting up an independent foundation to manage Software Carpentry's continued growth. This week, we passed an important milestone when we signed a fiscal sponsorship agreement with NumFOCUS. There are still lots of details to sort out, but here are brief answers to some of the questions we've received so far:

Congratulations!

That's not a question, but thank you :-)

What is NumFOCUS?

NumFOCUS is registered as a 501(c)3 charity in the United States which promotes and supports the ongoing research and development of open-source computing tools through educational, community, and public channels.

What is the Software Carpentry Foundation's relationship with NumFOCUS?

Partnering with NumFOCUS saves us the overhead of incorporating separately: they will accept donations and make payments on our behalf, handle reporting for tax purposes, and so on, so that we can concentrate on developing curriculum and delivering training.

Is Software Carpentry still part of Mozilla?

No. The Mozilla Science Lab is one of our partners, along with the Software Sustainability Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. All three are represented on our interim board, and we hope other organizations will partner with us soon as well—please stay tuned for announcements.

Who works for the Software Carpentry Foundation?

Greg Wilson has left Mozilla to work full-time for the SCF.

Who is organizing workshops?

Arliss Collins and Giacomo Peru are continuing to organize workshops as they always have as part of their jobs for the Mozilla Science Lab and the Software Sustainability Institute respectively.

What about instructor training?

Greg Wilson is continuing to do this, but has started training others to do it as well.

Who's paying for all of this?

We have several grant applications in the works, but are still trying to figure out how to supplement those with per-workshop donations, registration fees, and other income to become self-sustaining.

Can my organization help, and if so, how?

Yes: we are very interested in talking to potential partners who can help us organize and deliver training, and to sponsors who can help us financially. Please contact the board if you would like to help.

How can I make a personal donation to the cause?

You can send us money by PayPal, or contact us to arrange other payment methods:

How else can I help?

The same ways you always have: host a workshop, become an instructor, contribute to our teaching materials, and help the scientists you work with adopt better computing practices.

What happens next?

The interim board will finish drafting the SCF's initial bylaws and arrange the transition to the first permanent board early in 2015.

Where can I find out more?

Please mail us or add a comment on this post and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can.