use Perl

Current Plans

There's some cash in the pipeline. The current plan is to dedicate the first $20K of that cash to hiring a professional grant writer, with any excess (up to the pending grant amount) going to fund Larry. This is a reasonable and good thing. Perl 6 and Parrot development does dovetail nicely with what a number of government agencies and companies want, but getting that money is both time consuming and a bit dicey. A professional grant writer knows what to do and where to go, as well as the hoops to jump through. It's money well-spent, which should ensure the long-term viability of both the development grants and The Perl Foundation.

Grantee status

Damian is done as a grantee. He's had an 18 month run and, by his own choice as well as circumstances, has gone solo. As Kevin put it at the YAPC::NA 2002 town meeting, 'He's reached escape velocity.' This is a cool thing. Circumstances willing, Damian is more than happy to continue on as much as he can with Perl 6 development.

Dan's grant is up at the end of July (having started at the beginning of February rather than January) and, barring a massive influx of funds quickly, that will be that. Like Damian, Dan is also willing to do as much as possible with Parrot development, again circumstances willing.

Larry's grant is up at the end of June, but he's willing and able to let things go for a bit before other measures must be taken. There should be sufficient funds, if some promised things are followed through on, to let him go on for a while past that, and fundraising will hopefully get him to the end of this year's grant.

How can you help?

Donations to the Perl Foundation are always welcome. This is A Good Thing.

Damian and Dan both do training classes, and Dan does consulting work.*** If your company is unwilling to do a general donation to the foundation, hire one of them to train, speak at, or do work for your company. This is often an easier sell than a plain donation. (Though unless sufficient consulting/training comes through in the next few weeks, Dan will get a full-time job and likely pass on the Parrot Design Hat.)

Future Plans

YAS's**** plans for next year have yet to be made, though announcements should come within the next few months. Things are looking up, more or less, economically, so that should be a help. (The framework and hard-won experience from the past two cycles of fundraising will help guide things.)

*You'll pardon me for talking in the third person here.
**It's possible that this will all turn up wrong, but it's best information at the moment
***Yes, this is somewhat self-serving but, being really blunt, training and consulting work both pay sufficiently well that we can eat, provide for our families, and still work on perl. Full-time jobs don't have that level of flexibility, nor do they provide sufficient free time.
****Note for the grammar weenies: yes, the apostrophe is appropriate there. YAS is an acronym."