Why become a Sponsor Member of the PSF?

As described here, the goals of the PSF center around establishing solid intellectual property foundations for the Python source code base.

Sponsor members have decided to join the PSF for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Wishing to facilitate a clear intellectual property environment for a technology which they rely upon in their infrastructure or product line,
• Hoping to provide financial means by which key Python developers can focus their energy on Python development rather than legal matters.
• Wishing to participate in PSF discussions, attend and vote at member meetings, etc.
• As a means of increasing their visibility to the broader Python community, e.g. for recruitment purposes.
• A general desire to give "something" back to the Python community,
• Tax-deductibility: Per February 2003, the PSF is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organizaton. Donations are tax-deductible retroactively from the PSF's incorporation in 2001.

Why not become a Sponsor Member?

Access to services

The PSF is not a professional services provider or development shop. Sponsor members understand that their contributions do not entitle them to free technical support, preferential input into the Python development process, or any special access to the Python development process.

Advertising

You get a company logo with a web link on the PSF home page, but that's it. We're not interested in having advertising elsewhere on the python.org website.

How to become a Sponsor Member?

To join the PSF as a Sponsor member, an individual or organization needs to apply for membership, commit to a yearly financial contribution (currently set at $2000), fill out the sponsor membership form (or PDF or PDF form) , send it in and pay the invoice in a timely manner (by check or wire transfer).

Board policy

Any organization is welcome to apply for sponsor membership - however, approval of the membership is conditional on a member vote at a member meeting, and the Board may issue a recommendation to the members regarding the application.

Potential applicants should know that the Board feels that membership in the PSF should reflect well on the sponsor members and the PSF. To this end,

• The Board encourages applications from organizations with a provable and strong link to Python (e.g. organizations that use Python as a key piece of their software infrastructure).

• The Board discourages applications from organizations with unethical or offensive business practices (e.g. pornography vendors or spammers).