I want to provide an update on what ARDC's nonprofit board has been doing since
Brian's sudden passing last November.
Our three priorities have been:
1) Sustainability and continuity of the AMPRnet infrastructure. As I reported to the list
30 Dec 2019, Chris Smith, G1FEF (chris(a)g1fef.co.uk) has taken over AMPRnet portal
management among other sysadmin tasks. Chris is now working under paid contract with
ARDC, rather than as a volunteer. Besides keeping the infrastructure going, he is also
dedicating some paid time to improving the Portal and other software. The process of
contracting made us aware that we had never adopted a GDPR-compliant privacy policy, so
we've engaged lawyers to write one -- as simple as they'll let us make it, given
that we do actually keep personal data about hams who apply for net44 allocations, write
for the mailing list or wiki, etc. Actually following this policy then requires us to
make staff policies to match it (Record Retention and Data Destruction, Data Custodianship
and Access), plus a Terms of Use for the website, which we are still actively trying to
shorten and simplify. (I hate this legal stuff as much as anybody, but it has to be
done.)
2) Gathering administrative, financial and legal records, investing our funds responsibly,
and preparing for our first financial audit. Brian was a meticulous record-keeper, and we
do have all his records, but clearly he had no intention of passing so soon. So this was
not trivial. The audited financials and our 2019 tax return will be published on the
website and announced on the mailing list.
3) Establishing processes for accepting and reviewing grant applications, awarding grants
and following up on how our grants are spent. We are steadily adding process and
documentation. The board appointed five volunteers to the Grants Advisory Committee for
2020 and it's up and running. They meet (virtually) every two weeks to review, discuss
and evaluate the proposals that are now flowing in.
The Committee (and the Board) do approve a few grants as originally submitted, but most
involve some negotiation. Typically we'll ask an applicant to divide a single request
into well-defined sub-projects, each with a clear objective and cost. Although ARDC did
fully fund the UCSD Turing Memorial Scholarship in Brian's memory, in general we want
to avoid funding other organizations' endowments. So we'll ask applicants to
request only what they can usefully spend in one year, and come back next year for more.
Then we can see what they've accomplished as we decide whether to grant more.
For more information, see:
https://www.ampr.org/giving/
Here is a list of all grants made. They total more than a million US dollars so far.
https://www.ampr.org/grants/
As the Giving page describes, there is a lot more to do. We hope to increase the pace
this year, but we are trying hard to get everything right, or at least not terribly
wrong.
I never expected to become ARDC President. Brian was a close personal friend and you
can't believe how much I wish he still had this job. I have health problems of my own
slowing me down, and while I've avoided Covid (so far) the pandemic certainly
isn't helping. My original plans to promote ARDC at major ham gatherings like Dayton
and Friedrichshafen evaporated months ago. But the entire Board remains committed to
realize Brian's vision and honor his long commitment to the AMPRnet infrastructure and
community, and to the Internet community. Brian stood at the intersection of both, and
ARDC will continue to do the same.
73,
Phil Karn, KA9Q
ARDC President