[GNUz] [Fwd: Re: RMS to visit NZ] - The Great Hall Sponsorship Application

[Don Gould]

Hi All,

Further to discussions last night below is my draft for application for
sponsorship for the Great Hall at the Arts Centre.

The venue seats 280 people and would typically cost $480 + GST for the
night, so we really would need to make a concentrated effort to fill it
or risk looking just a bit silly.

The application needs to go to Nigel Shatford - Business Manager -
nigel at artscentre.org.nz

I am told that Nigel would typically take about a week to consider our
application and it would most likely be discussed with the marketing
manager.  Sponsorship at this level should not need to go to the board.

The person I talked to at the Art Centre this afternoon made it quite
clear that they would be wanting to know what they would get in return.
  Hence in my draft I have made a number of small commitments to promote
their facilities.  Please don't flame me, if you have issue then let's
hear why.

I have included quite a number of random comments about GNU/GPL, etc.
I'm not proposing we use my draft in full.  I suggest that we do some
editing.  I am just trying to help get the juices moving in the brain.

It occurred to me that spending time to write a submission is a waste of
time if the hall is already book, so I called them to confirm it's
available.  It is, and I have made a tentative booking to reserve us the
space if we want it.  The centre will hold the booking for a month
without any commitment, however it would be polite to get our collective
skates on! :)

Cheers Don

-----------------
Dear Nigel,

We are writing to you to day to ask the Arts Centre Trust to consider
sponsoring our use of the Grand Hall on Monday 18th of August from 7pm
to 10:30pm.

We propose an open public event where Mr Richard Stallman will speak.
Donations will be invited to cover the cost of bringing Mr Stallman to
Christchurch.  At this stage we have no idea if his presentation will
generate enough interest to cover the plane fares we expect to have to
cover or leave a surplus to cover other costs.

We would like to ask the Arts Centre to sponsor the entire cost of the
venue but would also be happy to meet some of the costs if the event
does prove to raise funds to a point that would allow us to assist in
costs.

As the founder of the Free Software Foundation and GNU software project,
Richard Stallman is a world renound public speaker.

Richard Stallman is to free software what Bill Gates is to commercial
software.

It is both an honour and privilege to have him speaking in Christchurch.

He will be presenting a talk about the philosophy of free software
around the world.

An irony of free software is how do you measure its worth?  It cost
nothing so is it worth nothing?

Free software is what powers most of the internet.  Without it we simply
wouldn't have the network that we all enjoy today.

How does Canterbury benefit?  The people of Canterbury benefit everyday
from free software without even knowing it.  Many thousands of people
and businesses use his software in Canterbury and around the world each day.

Google is run on free software and simply wouldn't exist if the people
who built it had been force to use commercial licensed software.

"Source code is to software what a recipe is to a cake."

GNU software is all ‘Open Source’.  This means it can be used in
education for students to learn how programs and computers work.

It struck us as a bit ironic to suggest charging a fee to come and hear
a man talk about why you should give your software away for free.

Mr Stallman has inspired others to learn and grow.  Not everyone agrees
with his philosophy that anyone should be able to use and improve software.

His is an important point of view for both commercial and educational
arenas to understand no matter where you stand.

His work has inspired many to do great things.

Mr Stallman presenting in our city is a gift of immeasurable value.  We
would like the city to present him the gift of being allowed to present
in the Great Hall.  We do have a choice of free or low cost venues but
understand that Mr Stallman enjoys historic architecture.

The BSD-GNU/Linux User community will be hosting Mr Stallman's visit to
Christchurch.  The group is made up of local software enthusists and has
not financial standing.

Free software drives more innovation and development in commercial software.

Most people are unaware that free software is what makes the internet
possible.

Free software is what keeps the commercial world in check and healthy.

Agree or disagree with the values Richard brings to the table, you have
to agree that this man has made a difference to our local community.

What we can offer the Arts Centre in return.  We will be hosting a web
site about the event and run a public emailing list and will have no
hesitation in providing links to the Centre's web site.

As we have no fund for advertising and promotion ourselves we will be
using word of mouth and personal contact to communicate the event.

We will be handing out a small information sheet to attendees on the
night and are happy to include a logo and contact details on that flyer.

Regards etc.