In the span of two weeks, Yet Another Society has been able to raise USD 55,000 for its first-ever Perl Development Grant, awarded to Perl hacker, author, and lecturer Damian Conway. The total money is what was needed to buy out Conway's obligations at Monash University.
Conway will spend the next year working on Perl in various ways: writing it, writing and lecturing about it, and working on various related projects.
The greatest single donation was from Black Star, an online video retailer, which donated half the total -- USD 27,500 -- in matching funds. Other corporate donors include VA Linux, Manning Publications, Stonehenge Consulting, and O'Reilly. Funding over the base amount is to be used for travel and expenses. A list of contributors will be posted on the YAS web site, along with Conway's diary and calendar for the next year.
...or possibly a Jester.
I'm delighted to confirm that my Dean has now approved the "buy-out" and hence I will definitely be working exclusively for Perl next year.
The response from the entire Perl community to this effort has been extraordinarily generous and positive. I'd especially like to thank the many individuals who have made this possible by donating substantial amounts (in several cases $1000 or more!) of their own money.
We will be getting the complete list of donors up on the YAS website just as soon as possible, and I will be contacting every donor personally to express my thanks.
I'm still indentured to my current job until the end of the year, but in my spare time I'll start setting up a website that will allow everyone to see what I'm doing and where I'm going to be.
Thank-you to everyone who has helped make this opportunity possible, and especially to Kevin, Kurt, and Greg who have spearheaded it.
Look forward to weird^H^H^H^H^Hgreat things from me in 2001!
Damian
Congratulations, Damian. I look forward with gleeful anticipation to your Aussie brand of Perl debauchery.
I can't wait until he does a visit to northern ireland to see the blackstar guys (who truly rock!)
They do indeed! They've been incredibly supportive, and I'm greatly looking forward to spending time with them next year, probably just before YAPC::Europe.
Damian
