Your proposal title should be short and specific. “Update ORGNAME Contributor Guide” is a good proposal title. “Documentation Improvements” is too vague; “Update Sections 5,7,23,99 of Contributor Guide, Create FAQ, and Create Style Guide” is too long.
In this section, tell us about your organization or project in a few short paragraphs. What problem does your project solve? Who are your users and contributors? How long has your organization or project been in existence? Give some context to help us understand why funding your proposal would create a positive impact in open source and the world.
Tell us about the problem your project will help solve. Why is it important to your organization or project to solve this problem?
Tell us about what documentation your organization will create, update, or improve. If some work is deliberately not being done, include that information as well. Include a time estimate, and whether you have already identified organization volunteers and a technical writer to work with your project.
How will you know that your new documentation has helped solve your problem? What metrics will you use, and how will you track them?
- You can include your budget in your proposal, or as a separate link. If your budget is fewer than ten items, we recommend including it in your proposal.
- All budgets should be in US dollars. We expect grants to range from US$5000 to US$15000; if your project is outside of that range, please provide additional information to justify your budget.
- We expect the bulk of your budget (60-70% minimum) to be allocated to the technical writer working on your project. We recommend budgeting on a per-project basis wherever possible.
- We expect open source projects to use open source tools whenever possible; if your project absolutely requires funds for proprietary software licenses or support, please include a justification for the amount.
- Other possible expenses include:
- Design work to create branding, logos, templates, or other design assets for your documentation site
- Minimal amounts (<US$200) for project swag (t-shirts or stickers for your participants). If you use the Season of Docs logo, it must be accompanied by your project or organization logo or name. Your swag may not use the name Google.
- Minimal stipends for volunteers who take on considerable mentorship or guidance roles in the project (we recommend no more than $500 per volunteer, please)
- Downstream donations to other open source projects should be no more than 10% of your budget total.
- Include other budget items as needed, along with justification for the amount sought. Expense justifications should highlight how the expenditure will contribute to the success of the project as a whole.
| Budget item | Amount | Running Total | Notes/justifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical writer audit, update, test, and publish new documentation of ingredient-adding process for GloriousPickle | 5000.00 | 5000.00 | |
| Volunteer stipends | 500 | 6500.00 | 3 volunteer stipends x 500 each |
| Project t-shirts (10 t-shirts) | 150.00 | 6650.00 | |
| Giant inflatable unicorn (15 foot version) | 99.99 | 6749.99 | We will give the inflatable unicorn to the team that answers the technical writer’s questions the fastest during the project development period |
| TOTAL | 6749.99 |
Include here any additional information that is relevant to your proposal.
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Previous experience with technical writers or documentation: If you or any of your mentors have worked with technical writers before, or have developed documentation, mention this in your application. Describe the documentation that you produced and the ways in which you worked with the technical writer. For example, describe any review processes that you used, or how the technical writer's skills were useful to your project. Explain how this previous experience may help you to work with a technical writer in Season of Docs.
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Previous participation in Season of Docs, Google Summer of Code or others: If you or any of your mentors have taken part in Google Summer of Code or a similar program, mention this in your application. Describe your achievements in that program. Explain how this experience may influence the way you work in Season of Docs.