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== Talking to SJ ==

=== support ===
* find people at UChicago who care about OLPC
** sponsorship!
* Google Chicago are good friends :)

=== bootcamps ===

(we will go over this during the first week or two of summer)
* introduce people to OLPC
* introduce them to the XO
* how to set up a local group
** networking
** project support
* hardware hacking

== Mel's ideas ==
== Mel's ideas ==


Line 5: Line 22:


=== people ===
=== people ===
[[user:mchua|Mel]], [[user:Nlee|Nlee]], [[user:andreatl|Tank]], Chris K.
[[user:mchua|Mel]], [[user:Nlee|Nlee]], [[user:andreatl|Tank]], Chris Carrick.

Others: IMSA? Chicago grassroots people?


'''Tank''' : are you going to be with us this summer?
'''Tank''' : are you going to be with us this summer?
Line 15: Line 34:
=== Funding ===
=== Funding ===


'''Stipends''' (Mel would like to pay people... and wouldn't mind breaking
'''Stipends''' (Mel would like to pay people... and wouldn't mind breaking even herself, although that's far less important)
even herself, although that's far less important)
* Rent
* Rent
* Van
* Van
Line 23: Line 41:
'''Sponsors'''
'''Sponsors'''
* Josh Gay has offered help/contacts from Chicago-local FSF folks
* Josh Gay has offered help/contacts from Chicago-local FSF folks
* The person who writes grant proposals for IMSA has offered
* The person who writes grant proposals for IMSA has offered mentorship, editing, and introductions to grant-granters, but says it's much easier to do this as a nonprofit (more on this in a sec)
* (Very Bad) Backup Plan: "Mel's Life Savings" (...as a buffer, while grants/donations haven't come in yet)
mentorship, editing, and introductions to grant-granters, but says it's
much easier to do this as a nonprofit (more on this in a sec)
* (Very Bad) Backup Plan: "Mel's Life Savings" (...as a buffer, while
grants/donations haven't come in yet)



=== Legal structure ===
=== Legal structure ===
Line 40: Line 54:
* Easier to get contributions/donations
* Easier to get contributions/donations
*: but not for small contributions, and it takes a year or so to take effect
*: but not for small contributions, and it takes a year or so to take effect
* Especially if the low-cost laptop bill passes and this becomes a
* Especially if the low-cost laptop bill passes and this becomes a statewide effort
statewide effort
* On the other hand, bureaucracy and paperwork sucks
* On the other hand, bureaucracy and paperwork sucks
* Mel would like to avoid it, but is torn b/c long-term planning is
* Mel would like to avoid it, but is torn b/c long-term planning is good and it's not ''that'' big a deal to set up a nonprofit
good and it's not ''that'' big a deal to set up a nonprofit
::: My advice : work under an umbrella first, worry about incorporation and then nonprofit status later.
::: My advice : work under an umbrella first, worry about incorporation and then nonprofit status later.


Nonprofit umbrella? see Software Freedom Conservancy' (SFC) and
Nonprofit umbrella? see Software Freedom Conservancy' (SFC) and
'Software in the Public Interest' (SPI) and similar
'Software in the Public Interest' (SPI) and similar
* Should there be a nonprofit umbrella for OLPC grassroots groups in
* Should there be a nonprofit umbrella for OLPC grassroots groups in the US in general, similar to one of the umbrella orgs above?
the US in general, similar to one of the umbrella orgs above?
* These are all good ideas. There are general nonprofit umbrellas.
* These are all good ideas. There are general nonprofit umbrellas.


Line 58: Line 69:


=== Location ===
=== Location ===
** Kathryn Satewicz introducing us to Boys and Girls clubs about renting
* Kathryn Satewicz introducing us to '''Boys and Girls clubs''' about renting cheap/free office space for summer in exchange for teaching a mini-boot-camp at their location (win-win)
* Kevin Crews talking to his dad, who owns an office building, about the possibility of free space for a few months
cheap/free office space for summer in exchange for teaching a

mini-boot-camp at their location (win-win)
* Looking at Evanston-area tech incubators (problem: expensive. solution: nicely-worded letter.)
** Kevin Crews talking to his dad, who owns an office building, about
* local companies/schools/libraries/orgs etc have offered their spaces for meetups, but this is not a good long-term solution
the possibility of free space for a few months

** Looking at Evanston-area tech incubators (problem: expensive.

solution: nicely-worded letter.)
Still very in flux... need lots of help, ideas, advice. what rent can we afford?
** local companies/schools/libraries/orgs etc have offered their spaces
for meetups, but this is not a good long-term solution
** Still very in flux... need lots of help, ideas, advice
** biggest problem: what rent can we afford?
* Van/mobile office
* Van/mobile office
** one of the biggest arguments for going nonprofit or under a nonprofit
** one of the biggest arguments for going nonprofit or under a nonprofit umbrella (so an individual doesn't have to take personal responsibility/liability for a vehicle)
umbrella (so an individual doesn't have to take personal
responsibility/liability for a vehicle)
** yay craigslist - for less than $2k Mel can get a van from NYC or Boston
** yay craigslist - for less than $2k Mel can get a van from NYC or Boston
** also looking at used vans from rental car agencies
** also looking at used vans from rental car agencies
Line 80: Line 86:
** goes: freakin' everywhere
** goes: freakin' everywhere
* Supplies
* Supplies
** need XOs (asking for ~50), should look for a local pilot that wants
** need XOs (asking for ~50), should look for a local pilot that wants them and can pay for them and will loan them to us for the summer in exchange for setup help.
** should we start purchasing XOs off eBay? (Mel would rather not, at that quantity)
them and can pay for them and will loan them to us for the summer in
** we have a lovely library, or the beginnings of one - kindly donated by O'Reilly
exchange for setup help.
** school server; Mel would like to have one, trying to persuade Chicago people to work on one
** should we start purchasing XOs off eBay? (Mel would rather not, at
that quantity)
** we have a lovely library, or the beginnings of one - kindly donated
by O'Reilly
** school server; Mel would like to have one, trying to persuade Chicago
people to work on one
* "hiring," quote-unquote
* "hiring," quote-unquote
** do we need any legal status to be able to 'hire' interns, even unpaid
** do we need any legal status to be able to 'hire' interns, even unpaid ones?
ones?
** if not, let's not do it
** if not, let's not do it
** if so, start paperwork now... or convince someone to let us be an
** if so, start paperwork now... or convince someone to let us be an umbrella under them
umbrella under them
* teh interwebs
* teh interwebs
** ilxo.org (name; less chicago-centric, there's a whole state out
** ilxo.org (name; less chicago-centric, there's a whole state out there. we will be mostly in the chicago area though)
there. we will be mostly in the chicago area though)
** chicagolpc.org - office (subset of ilxo; just an url)
** chicagolpc.org - office (subset of ilxo; just an url)
** turtlemobile.org - van (subset of ilxo right now; just an url - if
** turtlemobile.org - van (subset of ilxo right now; just an url - if successful could expand but not counting chickens atm)
successful could expand but not counting chickens atm)


Ok, that was the boring stuff. Now the more fun part:
Ok, that was the boring stuff. '''Now for the fun part''':


* local support
local support is high!
* people are super-excited! holy cow were local people at PyCon psyched and really want to do this
** high!
* IMSA and MVCC going nuts with activity, plans for summer
** super-excited!
** hosting Jam (MVCC) after Larry's 2-week programming class for teens
** holy cow were local people at PyCon psyched and really want to do this
** off-grid power research (IMSA) and who knows what else
** IMSA and MVCC going nuts with activity, plans for summer

*** hosting Jam (MVCC) after Larry's 2-week programming class for teens
people with contacts to legislators in IL left and right
*** off-grid power research (IMSA) and who knows what else
*** people with contacts to legislators in IL left and right
** including ChiPy, PyCon people, programming book authors, CS teachers
willing to volunteer time and help teach and train at OLPC events (but
not organize events themselves, at this time...)
* support from
** google (incl. at least one dev who wants this to be 20% time)
** chipy (many members, at least - will try to make this a little more
formal)
** imsa (institutionally - current president of imsa == former state
superintendent of education, and he's *insanely* cool and *loves* OLPC)
** mvcc (institutionally)
** students/profs from U of C, U of I, probably others
** members of the IL legislature (big fans!)
** many, many other companies, parents, hackers, students, etc. from the
area
** brightstar, presumably? at least they're nearby and they work with
olpc at the moment... no contact from the /hat{grassroots} direction
though, yet - don't think we're comfy making that contact without
"permission" from 1cc
* the low-cost laptop bill
* the low-cost laptop bill
** YAY!
** YAY!
** olpc-chicago list rocketing off on getting support in the legislature
** olpc-chicago list rocketing off on getting support in the legislature
** what can we do to help?
** what can we do to help?

* local support:
** including ChiPy, PyCon people, programming book authors, CS teachers willing to volunteer time and help teach and train at OLPC events (but not organize events themselves, at this time...)
** google (incl. at least one dev who wants this to be 20% time)
** chipy (many members, at least - will try to make this a little more formal)
** imsa (institutionally - current president of imsa == former state superintendent of education, and he's *insanely* cool and *loves* OLPC)
** mvcc (institutionally)
** students/profs from U of C, U of I, probably others
** members of the IL legislature (big fans!)
** many, many other companies, parents, hackers, students, etc. from the area
** brightstar, presumably? at least they're nearby and they work with olpc at the moment... no contact from the /hat{grassroots} direction though, yet - don't think we're comfy making that contact without "permission" from 1cc

* activities
* activities
** personal projects (off-grid power, accessibility, ?)
** personal projects (off-grid power, accessibility, ?)
Line 139: Line 129:
** getting other grassroots groups started
** getting other grassroots groups started
** getting pilots started
** getting pilots started
** getting all of the above to be independent - explicit sunset clause
** getting all of the above to be independent - explicit sunset clause at end of april (people can restart/continue then if they wish, but we're setting up so other groups can become strong enough that we can go away and let them run themselves)
** boot camps - for students who want to start OLPC chapters in their schools/communities
at end of april (people can restart/continue then if they wish, but
we're setting up so other groups can become strong enough that we can go
away and let them run themselves)
** boot camps - for students who want to start OLPC chapters in their
schools/communities
*** local libraries offering to provide classroom space
*** local libraries offering to provide classroom space
*** imsa-olpc student wants to intern and TA these classes; working out
*** imsa-olpc student wants to intern and TA these classes; working out details now, currently unpaid - so that could work out nicely

details now, currently unpaid - so that could work out nicely

* relationships w/ other olpc stuff
relationships w/ other olpc stuff
** can we hang out and learn at 1cc first (possibly part of 2nd) week of
june? (pilot mini boot-camp)
* Plan ahead of time : '''pilot mini boot-camp''' at 1cc first (possibly part of 2nd) week of june
** what do you want us to accomplish
** what do you want us to accomplish
** what makes a good grassroots group
** what makes a good grassroots group
** any restrictions/constraints or at least strong suggestions?
** any restrictions/constraints or at least strong suggestions?
** what is the relationship between olpc the organization and olpc
** what is the relationship between olpc the organization and olpc grassroots groups?
grassroots groups?
** what resources does olpc have that we can take advantage of?
** what resources does olpc have that we can take advantage of?
* meaning of life?
* meaning of life?


== Summer ==

The general gist of this is to figure out what we're doing for the summer; completely undirected hopping around won't accomplish much. So, what are we up to?

=== People involved ===

* [[User:Mchua|Mel]]
* Chris Carrick
* [[User:Nlee|Nikki]]
* Tank

Others:
* IMSA?
* Chicago grassroots people?

=== Purpose and projects ===

What is the function of a grassroots office? What are our goals? What should our goals be?

* continue working on repairs and hardware training
** XO hacking?
** repair jams?
* grassroots outreach
** local mentoring
** support of projects

=== Organization ===

What do we want? What do we need?

=== Timeline ===


uhm.


== Other random notes ==
== Other random notes ==

Latest revision as of 01:27, 24 March 2008

Talking to SJ

support

  • find people at UChicago who care about OLPC
    • sponsorship!
  • Google Chicago are good friends :)

bootcamps

(we will go over this during the first week or two of summer)

  • introduce people to OLPC
  • introduce them to the XO
  • how to set up a local group
    • networking
    • project support
  • hardware hacking

Mel's ideas

meta

0. Mel is hosed feel free to act and don't worry about

people

Mel, Nlee, Tank, Chris Carrick.

Others: IMSA? Chicago grassroots people?

Tank : are you going to be with us this summer?

  • Do you need housing?
  • Stipend?
  • Any other equipment/requests/accomodations?
  • What do you want to do?

Funding

Stipends (Mel would like to pay people... and wouldn't mind breaking even herself, although that's far less important)

  • Rent
  • Van
  • Class supplies

Sponsors

  • Josh Gay has offered help/contacts from Chicago-local FSF folks
  • The person who writes grant proposals for IMSA has offered mentorship, editing, and introductions to grant-granters, but says it's much easier to do this as a nonprofit (more on this in a sec)
  • (Very Bad) Backup Plan: "Mel's Life Savings" (...as a buffer, while grants/donations haven't come in yet)

Legal structure

Do we need it at all in the first place?

  • probably not just for the summer, but OLPC Chicago might consider setting up at least a bank account.

Incorporate as nonprofit?

  • Not necessarily now
  • Tax deductible yay!
    this really isn't as interesting as it seems
  • Easier to get contributions/donations
    but not for small contributions, and it takes a year or so to take effect
  • Especially if the low-cost laptop bill passes and this becomes a statewide effort
  • On the other hand, bureaucracy and paperwork sucks
  • Mel would like to avoid it, but is torn b/c long-term planning is good and it's not that big a deal to set up a nonprofit
My advice : work under an umbrella first, worry about incorporation and then nonprofit status later.

Nonprofit umbrella? see Software Freedom Conservancy' (SFC) and 'Software in the Public Interest' (SPI) and similar

  • Should there be a nonprofit umbrella for OLPC grassroots groups in the US in general, similar to one of the umbrella orgs above?
  • These are all good ideas. There are general nonprofit umbrellas.

Piggyback w/ existing nonprofit org?

  • OLPC itself?
  • a school? which?

Location

  • Kathryn Satewicz introducing us to Boys and Girls clubs about renting cheap/free office space for summer in exchange for teaching a mini-boot-camp at their location (win-win)
  • Kevin Crews talking to his dad, who owns an office building, about the possibility of free space for a few months
  • Looking at Evanston-area tech incubators (problem: expensive. solution: nicely-worded letter.)
  • local companies/schools/libraries/orgs etc have offered their spaces for meetups, but this is not a good long-term solution


Still very in flux... need lots of help, ideas, advice. what rent can we afford?

  • Van/mobile office
    • one of the biggest arguments for going nonprofit or under a nonprofit umbrella (so an individual doesn't have to take personal responsibility/liability for a vehicle)
    • yay craigslist - for less than $2k Mel can get a van from NYC or Boston
    • also looking at used vans from rental car agencies
    • ugly van + rustoleum ---> pretty van! (a-la ian bicking's car)
    • Also saves us plane fare from Boston to Chicago
    • contains: staff, XOs, XS, EE equipment, library
    • goes: freakin' everywhere
  • Supplies
    • need XOs (asking for ~50), should look for a local pilot that wants them and can pay for them and will loan them to us for the summer in exchange for setup help.
    • should we start purchasing XOs off eBay? (Mel would rather not, at that quantity)
    • we have a lovely library, or the beginnings of one - kindly donated by O'Reilly
    • school server; Mel would like to have one, trying to persuade Chicago people to work on one
  • "hiring," quote-unquote
    • do we need any legal status to be able to 'hire' interns, even unpaid ones?
    • if not, let's not do it
    • if so, start paperwork now... or convince someone to let us be an umbrella under them
  • teh interwebs
    • ilxo.org (name; less chicago-centric, there's a whole state out there. we will be mostly in the chicago area though)
    • chicagolpc.org - office (subset of ilxo; just an url)
    • turtlemobile.org - van (subset of ilxo right now; just an url - if successful could expand but not counting chickens atm)

Ok, that was the boring stuff. Now for the fun part:

local support is high!

  • people are super-excited! holy cow were local people at PyCon psyched and really want to do this
  • IMSA and MVCC going nuts with activity, plans for summer
    • hosting Jam (MVCC) after Larry's 2-week programming class for teens
    • off-grid power research (IMSA) and who knows what else

people with contacts to legislators in IL left and right

  • the low-cost laptop bill
    • YAY!
    • olpc-chicago list rocketing off on getting support in the legislature
    • what can we do to help?
  • local support:
    • including ChiPy, PyCon people, programming book authors, CS teachers willing to volunteer time and help teach and train at OLPC events (but not organize events themselves, at this time...)
    • google (incl. at least one dev who wants this to be 20% time)
    • chipy (many members, at least - will try to make this a little more formal)
    • imsa (institutionally - current president of imsa == former state superintendent of education, and he's *insanely* cool and *loves* OLPC)
    • mvcc (institutionally)
    • students/profs from U of C, U of I, probably others
    • members of the IL legislature (big fans!)
    • many, many other companies, parents, hackers, students, etc. from the area
    • brightstar, presumably? at least they're nearby and they work with olpc at the moment... no contact from the /hat{grassroots} direction though, yet - don't think we're comfy making that contact without "permission" from 1cc
  • activities
    • personal projects (off-grid power, accessibility, ?)
    • getting other projects started
    • getting other grassroots groups started
    • getting pilots started
    • getting all of the above to be independent - explicit sunset clause at end of april (people can restart/continue then if they wish, but we're setting up so other groups can become strong enough that we can go away and let them run themselves)
    • boot camps - for students who want to start OLPC chapters in their schools/communities
      • local libraries offering to provide classroom space
      • imsa-olpc student wants to intern and TA these classes; working out details now, currently unpaid - so that could work out nicely


relationships w/ other olpc stuff

  • Plan ahead of time : pilot mini boot-camp at 1cc first (possibly part of 2nd) week of june
    • what do you want us to accomplish
    • what makes a good grassroots group
    • any restrictions/constraints or at least strong suggestions?
    • what is the relationship between olpc the organization and olpc grassroots groups?
    • what resources does olpc have that we can take advantage of?
  • meaning of life?


Other random notes

  • meet Greg Smith and invite him to get involved with Olin chapter
  • go through repair center meeting notes