The Foundation wants to make it easy for individuals and companies to contribute to the Firebird development effort through sponsorship and donations. This How-to should assist such people to decide what sponsorship model best suits them. If there are any concerns overlooked here, we encourage you to contact us for the exact information you are missing.

Sponsor vs Donor

We are sometimes asked what is the difference between a sponsor and a donor. Well, the boundaries are a little fuzzy and, generally, it is not an issue that needs to be made very distinct. All contributed funds, as well as foundation subscriptions, go into a single pool. All funded projects are thus sponsored by the foundation through sponsorship and membership.

In practice, from the point of view of allocating funds, we consider a sponsor of the foundation's activities as one who undertakes to provide a fixed amount at agreed intervals for an agreed period of time, while a donor makes a one-time contribution. A one-time donation that is sufficiently large to enable us to commit to completing a special project or to enhance an existing project in a way we could not have done otherwise is certainly sponsorship.

Sponsors and donors are entitled — and encouraged — to advertise their involvement in Firebird's development by displaying a sponsor, donor or member logo on their company or personal websites. You may download the appropriate logo from this page.

Sponsors and donors appear on the listing of sponsors. You will be asked for a small company logo and a short paragraph of text about your company and, if you wish, about your involvement with Firebird.

Sponsorship Models

We have a "banding" scheme to help intending sponsors to choose a level of contribution that works for them:
 
Platinum Sponsorship More than $1000 per month or one-time donations of $12,000 or more.

From the 2007-2008 year forward, paid-up Platinum sponsors have the option of taking a full discount of Corporate membership fees for the duration of their sponsorship.
Gold Sponsorship $500 to $1000 per month or one-time donations of $6000 - $11,999.

From the 2007-2008 year forward, paid-up Gold sponsors have the option of taking a full discount of Corporate membership fees for the duration of their sponsorship.
Silver Sponsorship $175 to $499 per month or one-time donations between $2000 and $5999.

From 16 November 2013, paid-up Silver sponsors have the option of taking a full discount of Corporate membership fees for the duration of their sponsorship.
Bronze Sponsorship Commitments or one-time donations from around $900 to $1999 per year.

From 16 November 2013, paid-up Bronze sponsors have the option of taking a full discount of Corporate membership fees for the duration of their sponsorship.
Percentage of Sales A committed proportion of each product sale is donated.

From 16 November 2013, such sponsors have the option of taking, pro rata,  a full discount of Corporate membership fees for the duration of their sponsorship once the total contribution for the year to date reaches $400.

Getting Money to Us

Sponsorships, donations and other funds are nominally always in US dollars. However, the Foundation has facilities around the world to accept USD-equivalent electronic transfers also in Euros, Sterling pounds and Australian dollars. Due to changes in bank policies, it is no longer possible to send payments to us by cheque.

It is usual for platinum and gold sponsors to be invoiced at regular intervals through the year in instalments. To save on foreign exchange losses and transfer costs, we can do the paper work and arrange for sponsors at these levels to accrue your funds and hold them in trust for the Foundation. When we need to make a payment to a grantee, or to settle some other account, in or near your locality or in your currency, we will send you a withdrawal request with instructions for sending the payment directly to its final destination.

Since these kinds of arrangements could place an unacceptable burden on you or your staff, we are just as happy for you to respond to invoices by making cash payments directly to one of the Foundation's accounts or to send us cheques.
  • For more information about platinum and gold sponsorship arrangements, or to request details of our bank accounts for international funds transfers, please contact us.
  • To do credit card transactions online in US dollars or Sterling pounds, please go to the Donate page.
  • For sending cheques by mail, please use the Foundation's official address, as published here.