[HOT] Help HOT give 10 communities the resources to map!

Fri Dec 2 01:36:48 UTC 2016

One of the problems with giving aid is only about a tenth of the money
given is used in the way one would hope.

Probably the most pressing problem in Africa at the moment is corruption
and in many ways aid doesn't help this particular problem.

Mapping in OSM is way to assist without fear that the funds will be
diverted.

Money given by government agencies stands a little more chance that the aid
will get through although there is always the temptation to say it must be
shipped on ships from the donor country or must be spent on goods from the
donor country.

Given that HOT Inc exists in the US and given the USA culture, who else
could elect Donald, I think we can expect them to present themselves in
this manner.

Whilst I would hope that requirements and benefits can be presented I'm not
sure that this is in the US tradition.  Given the attention span of the
target audience again is it worth the effort to HOT Inc?  Should the
message have been restricted to those with a US address?

If I'm cynical then the task manager has been very effective.  The training
group has identified problem areas and come up with solutions. However HOT
is not just HOT Inc there are many people involved in creating maps and the
tools used.  Germany is home to many of them.   The OSM wiki contains much
wisdom, the page I'm thinking of was put together by a Canadian, well a
Québécois which is practically the same.

I'd like to see two slots on the most urgent slots in tasks reserved for
projects that are run by OSM groups in affected areas to give some sort of
recognition to the work they are doing.  If nothing else they're learning
project management skills that they can apply elsewhere.

In sum HOT Inc probably deserves some support but on transparency I think
it could do better.

Cheerio John

On 1 Dec 2016 7:16 pm, "Severin Menard" <severin.menard at gmail.com> wrote:

> Let us figure out what is happening here:
>
> HOT US Inc starts a micro-grant program supposedly to support 10 local OSM
> communities worldwide by raising money. Some of them being already
> HOT-Sponsored through grants, others being totally autonomous from HOT US
> Inc. Looks great. Micro-grants are not HOT US Inc speciality as it has been
> refusing from 2013 to deal with projects under 10,000 USD grants, what may
> explain why it is not clear at all how the money from these smaller grants
> will be used: who decides how to split, if the 10 communities will all
> receive a tenth of it or if it is related to their requirements (if only
> HOT US Inc took the time to ask them), if the communities will receive all
> the money in cash or if HOT US Inc will proceed to purchases, etc. OK, it
> is totally unclear/unexplained, but damn let us donate, this a good cause!
>
> But if you read the explanation text you can read this: “*When donating,
> you have the choice of where your funds go: to micro-grants or where
> they're needed most to support HOT's critical work and technology*”.
> What? The first time this 1 million dollar organization (according to
> https://hotosm.org/sites/default/files/HOT_2015_Annual_Report.pdf) raises
> money specifically for far less funded local OSM communities, it really
> needs to suggest to take money from them?
>
> I don’t know if HOT US Inc needs fund-raising again to fix a new
> unexpected, mismanaged 100,000+ USD financial hole like last year without
> explaining it to the donors (or even its voting members) forgetting that
> the O of HOT is for Open, but this is certainly not the right way to do it
> here.
>
> Even better, all the people participating in the video have been
> automatically called “HOT community leaders”. Ladies and gents, you belong
> to the HOT US Inc brand now, just because you showed up in the video. From
> my long experience with HOT US Inc, I can tell you that this wording will
> be next used in every, every grant HOT US Inc will try to get in the
> future, emphasizing this community support in its storytelling. In short,
> for the 1 USD you may get from HOT US Inc through this micro-grants
> program, aside from the 1 USD it will directly keep, HOT US Inc will
> multiply this in the future for its very own use.
>
> Do not be surprised, this is not the first time HOT US Inc takes over the
> work from others. For the last two years or so, everyone using the HOT US
> Inc Tasking Manager instance becomes instantaneously a “HOT volunteer”,
> even if she or he does not even know what HOT is, and included in HOT US
> Inc statistics. People contributing in OSM with the iD editor are not
> “MapBox volunteers”, as long as I know. Nor book authors using Microsoft
> Word to draft their new work are “MS writers”. A basic OpenStreetMap rule
> that the HOT US Inc Board should read and think about during one of their
> (non public - always) meetings: respect attribution.
>
> OSM local communities, HOT US Inc needs you to get money from you. But you
> do not need HOT US Inc to get money to grow your activities. Rather than
> having ten seconds in this video, build your own fund-raising, take time to
> present your community, its history, achievements and goals and describe
> precisely what you need and want to get. You will likely get more funds and
> nobody will make financial profit from you.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Severin
>
> On Mon, Nov 28, 2016 at 9:20 PM, Tyler Radford <tyler.radford at hotosm.org>
> wrote:
>
>> Dear HOT community,
>>
>> Today, on behalf of the HOT Fundraising Working Group, I'm excited to
>> announce our 2016  campaign #mapthedifference.
>>
>> This year's campaign is about coming together to raise funds for a
>> micro-grants initiative. Micro-grants will support small but highly
>> impactful projects carried out by HOT/OSM community leaders. More details
>> on the application and selection process will be announced in early 2017,
>> but until then, please check out the video below and help us
>> #mapthedifference!
>>
>> Tyler
>>
>>
>>
>> Help HOT provide 10 communities with equipment and funding to map
>> Many of the world's most vulnerable places do not exist on any map. Meet
>> 12 leaders who are working to change that by putting their communities on
>> the global map for the first time.
>>
>> You can show your support by starting your own Fundraising Page using the
>> button below or making a donation today.
>>
>>
>> *We have 33 days to raise $30,000 in support of this life-changing work
>> in 10 communities.*
>>
>> SUPPORT THEIR AMBITIONS NOW
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