enhancementhelp wanted
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- (36 stars)
- PR merge metrics
- (PR metrics pending)
Description
Context
Open StarTer Village is planning to go online (see Online Launch Plan #348), which will require sustained resources — server hosting, asset production, volunteer coordination, and potentially contracted development work. The project currently sits under OCF (Open Culture Foundation) as a community project, with Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) as the original sponsor.
We need to clarify how funds can be raised, how they flow through OCF, and what sustainable models fit an open-source educational board game.
Current Funding Landscape
| Aspect | Status |
|---|---|
| Project owner | OCF (財團法人開放文化基金會) — fiscal sponsor |
| Original sponsor | Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) |
| Donation channel | OCF general donation page exists, but no project-specific channel |
| Hosting costs | Currently ~$0 (not deployed); Vercel free tier may suffice initially |
| Ongoing costs | Domain, hosting (if beyond free tier), asset production, event costs |
Questions to Resolve
1. Fund Flow — How does money reach the project?
- Clarify OCF's fiscal sponsorship model for this project
- Can earmarked donations go directly to Open StarTer Village?
- What is OCF's overhead/admin fee structure for sponsored projects?
- What spending requires OCF approval vs. project team discretion?
- Determine if the project needs its own sub-account or budget line within OCF
- Document the process: donor → OCF → project expenses (transparency)
2. Funding Sources — Where can money come from?
Grants & Institutional Funding
- g0v Civic Tech Grant (公民科技獎助金) — evaluate eligibility and application timeline
- OCF internal resources — does OCF allocate budget for its own community projects?
- FNF renewed sponsorship — explore continuing or expanding the existing FNF relationship
- NLnet / Open Technology Fund — European grants for open-source projects
- Mozilla Foundation grants — open-source education alignment
- University partnerships — USR (University Social Responsibility) course funding (the project already has university workshop experience)
Community-Backed Funding
- GitHub Sponsors — set up for
ocftworg or individual maintainers - Open Collective — transparent fund management, popular in open-source (would this complement or conflict with OCF's fiscal sponsorship?)
- Crowdfunding campaign (e.g., 嘖嘖 zeczec, Kickstarter) — best suited for Phase 3 (physical copies) as a milestone-based campaign; could bundle physical game + online access + supporter credits
- Corporate sponsorship — companies using the game for team building / onboarding; offer logo placement, custom card packs, or workshop facilitation
In-Kind / Zero-Cost Resources
- Vercel / Netlify — free tier or open-source sponsorship programs
- Cloudflare — free plan for the domain + CDN
- Volunteer contributions — the current backbone; formalize recognition
- COSCUP / g0v hackathon — development sprints at zero cost
3. Budget Estimation — What does it actually cost?
| Item | Estimated Cost | Phase |
|---|---|---|
| Domain (openstartervillage.ocf.tw) | ~$0 (OCF subdomain) | Phase 1 |
| Vercel hosting (free tier) | $0 | Phase 1 |
| Vercel Pro (if needed) | ~$20/mo | Phase 1 |
| Fly.io game server (if needed) | ~$5–20/mo | Phase 1 |
| Tabletopia publisher account | $0 (free) | Phase 2 |
| Asset production (freelance designer) | $500–2,000 | Phase 1–2 |
| English rulebook translation | $300–800 (or volunteer) | Phase 2 |
| BGA development (contracted) | $3,000–10,000 (or volunteer) | Phase 3 |
| Physical print run (small batch) | $5,000–15,000 | Phase 3 |
4. Sustainability Model — Long-term
- Define the project's stance on monetization (free-to-play always? freemium? pay-what-you-want?)
- Sell physical copies while keeping digital free?
- Workshop/facilitation fees as a revenue stream?
- Establish transparent financial reporting (quarterly or per-phase)
- Plan for what happens if/when OCF can no longer host the project — succession plan for fiscal sponsorship
5. Relationship with Regional Communities
- How do partner communities (e.g., Japanese ossquest.com) fund their own activities? (see #349)
- Should regional partners handle their own hosting costs, or pool into a shared fund?
- Can regional partners independently seek local grants/sponsors under the same brand?
Immediate Action Items
- Talk to OCF — clarify fiscal sponsorship terms, earmarked donation options, and budget process for this project
- Estimate Phase 1 costs — determine if free-tier hosting is sufficient or if we need funding before launch
- Set up GitHub Sponsors — low effort, immediate visibility, good signal
- Draft a one-page sponsor deck — for approaching corporate sponsors and grant applications
- Discuss at next Discord community meeting — align contributors on funding philosophy (fully volunteer-driven vs. seeking grants)