[Chapter-delegates] What should ISOC's future goals be? How can we work toward achieving them as ISOC Chapters?

[Judith Hellerstein]

HI All,

I know there has been a lot of work done on simplifying the Beyond the net 
program and I thank you for that.  I think that one of the issues that have led 
some chapters to not apply for them has been that if their program that they 
wanted to gain funding for was was not one of the types listed in the pull down 
tabs and so they gave up without using the Other tab and showcasing why their 
program was important to the chapter and met the chapter's goals and needs.  The 
programs were tied to the main topics within the ISOC Action plan for that year 
but sometimes those action items did not have a direct relationship to what that 
particular chapters were facing and so since they did not fit or explain how 
their program fit into the ISOC plan and issues for that year they gave up or 
they were not successful.  I think the addition of the other category in the 
Beyond the net applications and the ability to explain how this program  that 
you are seeking funding for meets the goals and action items you set out in your 
own chapter action items and goals for this year has now allowed other chapters 
and SIGs to gain access to funding.

I think the expansion of the topics drop down list in beyond the net has 
broadened the ability for chapters to gain funding has made a difference but 
perhaps others were not aware of this broadening of the issues that can be 
covered by a Small Beyond the Net Grant.  This is what allowed our SIG to get 
funding as Accessibility is not a topic or an issue but all encompassing

On the issues of Attorneys I definitely agree on as the Accessibility SIG has 
had this issue over the years with ISOC and we have worked hard to find 
alternative arrangements that could work and allow us to function and put on 
programs.  The additional Flexibility now on the budget is a great help as often 
costs change from when you planned them to when they happened and good that 
these could be modified later.

Best,

Judith Hellerstein

Accessibility SIG

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Judith Hellerstein, Founder & CEO
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On 9/27/2021 12:12 PM, Andrew Sullivan via Chapter-delegates wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 27, 2021 at 11:59:03AM -0400, Veni Markovski via 
> Chapter-delegat>Question to ISOC staff (or you, if you know the answer):
>> Is there a change between the time when ISOC was funding projects, and now, 
>> when the Foundation is doing it?
>
> The Beyond the Net grants program was moved in its entirety unchanged from the 
> Internet Society to the Foundation.  The program has been considerably 
> simplified recently in an effort to make it still easier for people to apply, 
> and the deadlines have been removed to make it possible to apply when it works 
> for the chapters.  Nevertheless, we _still_ have a shortage of applications: 
> the programme fund has not been tapped completely since I started in this job.
>
> Some chapters, meanwhile, not only apply for BtN grants but also for other 
> grant programmes, and are successful in their applications.  We have invested 
> significantly in training materials to try to make this process easy for grant 
> applicants. Please do apply.
>
> Best regards,
>
> A
>