nlnet.mdwn

   1 # NLNet
   2
   3 With many thanks to <http://nlnet.nl> there are six inter-related grants,
   4 documented at the [[nlnet_proposals]] page.
   5
   6 NLNet is a Foundation and so does not have employees or enter into "work
   7 for hire" agreements.  It also will not give money to Corporations:
   8 only to Universities, individuals, and other Foundations.
   9
  10 They have an extremely knowledgeable International Tax Law specialist
  11 who has negotiated tax agreements with most countries in the world and
  12 consequently, subject to your Accountant checking with the law in your
  13 country, donations - and they are charitable donations - are extremely
  14 likely to be 100% tax-deductible.
  15
  16 The process is as follows:
  17
  18 * Proposals are submitted, reviewed, independently audited and (sometimes)
  19   approved.
  20 * Accepted proposals submit a Project Plan listing a set of milestones,
  21   each of which has a fixed budget associated with it (note: not an
  22   hourly rate!)
  23 * The Project Plan becomes part of a Memorandum of Understanding, signed
  24   by the team (note: not a contract!)
  25 * On 100% completion of tasks *or subtasks* (which must add up ultimately
  26   to the total allocated budget) after approval by the project leader,
  27   an rfp (Request for Payment) is submitted by email to nlnet.
  28 * The rfp is paid directly by bank transfer from NLNet
  29   *not by the Libre-SOC project*
  30
  31 Note that the lack of hourly rate and the lack of contractual obligation
  32 is what enables this to be considered charitable donations (and why
  33 Corporations may not be paid or involved).
  34
  35 This lack of contractual obligation also means that if the work is not
  36 done, then there is no penalty (for you). The only thing that happens
  37 is we grumble a bit and have to find someone else to do the work.
  38
  39 It is **your responsibility** to comply with local law and to consult an
  40 Accountant. Your Accountant will be able to confirm the International
  41 Tax Agreements, from the details and/or contact information on NLNet's
  42 website <https://nlnet.nl/foundation/ANBI.html>.  If you are not familiar
  43 with this, or if your Accountant is unfamiliar with International Tax
  44 Agreements, please contact us, and we can put your Accountant in touch
  45 with Bob Goudriaan, the Finance Director of NLnet who specialises in
  46 International Tax Law.  Bob can explain the details to your Accountant;
  47 your Accountant can explain it to you.
  48
  49
  50 # NLNet LibreSOC Top-level
  51
  52 * 2019-02-012 Core <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=191>
  53 * 2019-10-043 Wishbone <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=175>
  54 * 2019-10-031 Video <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=137>
  55 * 2019-10-029 Coriolis2 <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=138>
  56 * 2019-10-042 MESA <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=140>
  57 * 2019-10-032 Proofs <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=158>
  58 * 2019-10-046 Standards <https://bugs.libre-soc.org/show_bug.cgi?id=174>
  59
  60 # NLNet new members onboarding FAQ <a id="faq">
  61
  62 This FAQ is written to assist people in understanding the key difference
  63 between being "financially rewarded with charitable donations" and
  64 "a job / contract / work-for-hire agreement".
  65
  66 * Q: So I start work on a bug: do I get paid "per hour"?
  67  - A: No.  NLnet's donations are for "results" (Milestones) not time.
  68       This avoids NLnet being, for example, qualified under local law
  69       (e.g. UK IR35) as an "employer" (which would interfere with their
  70       status and responsibilities as a Charitable Foundation).
  71 * Q: What if I don't complete the work?
  72  - A: then you can't submit a Request for Payment.
  73 * Q: Are there any penalties or consequences for me if I don't?
  74  - A: No.  there's no contract (it's a Memorandum of Understanding), so
  75       no penalties.  You just don't get the associated "gift / donation".
  76 * Q: What if it's a really long task?
  77  - A: We can (and do) split the (pre-agreed) Milestones into sub-tasks
  78       in our bugtracker.  The same rules apply: 100% completion is required.
  79 * Q: What if i take a longer or shorter time?
  80    A: If it's shorter, great! you still get the same gift/donation (good for
  81       you!)  If it's longer, then, well, this is really no different from
  82       having given a "quote" for a job.  If that's really problematic
  83       we may be able to sort something out.
  84 * Q: So do I pay any tax on what I get paid?
  85  - A: This is a question that you will have to ask your *Accountant*.  In
  86      most jurisdictions, Charitable Gifts (which is what NLnet gives you)
  87      are entirely tax-free, however beyond a certain point some jurisdictions
  88      might start taxing it.  Bottom line: it is **your** responsibility to
  89      check with **your** Accountant.  Not ours, and not NLnet's.  We can
  90      help get you through the "Understanding Hoops" on that however it is
  91      definitely your responsibility and your responsibility alone.
  92 * Q: What was that about a Memorandum of Understanding?
  93  - A: Part of NLnet's funding remit (under the EU Horizon 2020
  94       Programme) and also part of the protection for yourself and for
  95       them, you will need to be listed as a Project Contributor on the
  96       associated Grant's MoU.  Note and reinforcement reminder: *this is
  97       not a contract*, it is simply for the NLnet Foundation's
  98       "Accountability and Audit trails" and is entirely private.
  99       Also note that the MoU specifically states (reinforcing the above)
 100       that you agree that it's your responsibility to contact an Accountant
 101       and to comply with local Tax Law regarding the donations that you
 102       receive.
 103 * Q: What about my privacy in that regard?
 104  - A: NLnet do not give out confidential names and addresses and we
 105       request that you communicate that information directly to them
 106       (not to us as Project Leaders or to other Project Members)
 107 * Q: What about Bank Account information for payments, I mean donations
 108  - A: Again: we request that you pass on the Bank Account information
 109       directly to NLnet.
 110 * Q: So... you - personally - the other LibreSOC developers - are not
 111      paying us or involved in payment in any way?
 112  - A: Correct.  We receive personal charitable donations (gifts) from NLnet,
 113       just like you would, having first also been added to the MoU.
 114 * Q: This all sounds very odd!  I want to consult my Lawyer!
 115  - A: Yeah please don't do that, unless they are an expert in International
 116       Finance, specialise in International Tax Agreements, and are
 117       also a Chartered Accountant, or they are prepared to work
 118       "Pro-bono".  NLnet is Charitably funding "Works for the Public
 119       Good".  If you pay your lawyer hundreds to thousands of dollars
 120       for "advice", that money needs to be replenished in your bank
 121       account. That means, ultimately, that NLnet is directly paying for it,
 122       and that is money needlessly and inappropriately wasted.
 123       Please instead have your **Accountant** review the International
 124       Tax Agreements that NLnet went to a lot of trouble to set up
 125       (<https://nlnet.nl/foundation/ANBI.html>) and if your **Accountant**
 126       does not understand them, have them contact Bob Goudriaan directly.
 127       Bob can explain it to your **Accountant**, your Accountant can explain
 128       it to you.
 129 * Q: I wanted to ask about "Works for the Public Good".  What does that mean,
 130      in practical terms?
 131  - A: It means that our (your) work - must be made available under Libre
 132       Licenses.  In this project's case we chose the LGPLv3+.
 133 * Q: Do I retain copyright?
 134  - A: Yes you do however we do ask that you make a "dual-assignment" so
 135       that we can enter into (non-exclusive, non-transferrable) re-licensing
 136       agreements to large Corporations that do not like the LGPLv3+.
 137       Given that you would receive a percentage of a substantial amount
 138       of money (which will be a donation by that Corporation) there is
 139       a financial incentive there (licensing deals for GPUs start around
 140       USD 250,000 for the low-end ones and go up from there).
 141 * Q: What's this about transparency?
 142  - A: We are funded under NLnet's Privacy and Enhanced Trust Programme
 143       <https://nlnet.nl/PET>.  The mandate is so that people to be able to
 144       trust what we are doing, and for independent audits to be able to
 145       take place.  Therefore, development discussion needs to be under
 146       resources within our control to record (i.e. not github).  Even the
 147       IRC channel is logged.
 148 * Q: So I have to record *everything*?
 149  - A: No, just make sure to use the bugtracker, mailing lists, IRC channel
 150       gitolite3 and FTP server for general day-to-day *development*.  Not
 151       your "personal conversations" or (if a Professor for example) your
 152       Lectures which happen to mention LibreSOC.
 153 * Q: That sounds nerve-wracking!
 154  - A: This is just how Libre software development is done: entirely publicly!
 155       There is nothing new here in 30+ years of Libre software development,
 156       it's just that it's a condition of involvement rather than optional.
 157       [sotto voice: and to be honest the traffic volume is so high and it's
 158       of such specialist interest that nobody's going to be looking who isn't
 159       genuinely interested :) ]