Firebird Foundation

Firebird Foundation is a non-profit association formed to support the development, maintenance, and wider advancement of the open-source Firebird relational database engine and related software projects. It brings together individuals and companies of different sizes that contribute financially or otherwise participate in the Firebird community. Rather than operating as a conventional commercial software vendor, the Foundation functions as a funding, governance, and community-support mechanism for an open-source technology project. The Foundation’s principal financial model combines membership dues with sponsorship arrangements. Member dues are intended to provide direct support for development of the Firebird engine, while sponsorships from individuals and companies provide an additional source of funds for the organization’s objectives. This structure allows the Foundation to collect and administer contributions and distribute them toward activities that promote and advance Firebird software development. Legally, Firebird Foundation Inc. is a non-profit association incorporated and registered in the Australian state of New South Wales under certificate INC9878828. Its stated objectives include supporting and advancing development of the open-source Firebird relational database engine; providing non-commercial infrastructure and mechanisms for accepting, managing, and disbursing funds; and encouraging cooperation among individual contributors, other non-profit organizations, and commercial companies involved in Firebird-related development, support, promotion, and associated activities. Governance is carried out by a Management Committee elected annually by voting members at the Foundation’s Annual General Meeting. The committee operates under the association’s rules and may establish or delegate work to subcommittees when necessary. Foundation meetings are generally conducted through an online forum, reflecting the geographically distributed nature of the Firebird development community. Before formal incorporation, the organization’s affairs were managed by the FirebirdSQL Foundation Steering Group. That group selected officers and committee members to oversee the Foundation until the first Annual General Meeting, held in December 2002. In June 2005, a special resolution changed the organization’s name from The FirebirdSQL Foundation to Firebird Foundation. The organization’s role is therefore best understood as ecosystem stewardship: it supports the people, infrastructure, funding channels, and collaborative arrangements needed for the Firebird database project, rather than selling a proprietary database product under its own commercial brand.

The Firebird Foundation emerged to provide an organizational and financial structure around the open-source Firebird relational database project. Before its incorporation, its affairs were handled by the FirebirdSQL Foundation Steering Group, which elected officers and committee members and managed the organization during its formative period. The steering group’s interim role continued until the Foundation’s first Annual General Meeting in December 2002. The Foundation was legally incorporated and registered as a non-profit association in New South Wales, Australia, under certificate INC9878828. Its legal structure was designed to support the collection and administration of funds without turning the Foundation into a conventional commercial software company. The organization’s stated purpose was to direct resources toward Firebird development and to create mechanisms through which members, sponsors, and other supporters could contribute to the project. Its funding model relies primarily on membership dues and sponsorships. Dues paid by members are described as an important direct source of funding for development of the Firebird engine. Sponsorship arrangements with individuals and companies supplement that income and help the Foundation pursue broader objectives, including support for project infrastructure and activities associated with Firebird software. Governance is assigned to a Management Committee elected annually by voting members during the Annual General Meeting. The committee is responsible for managing the Foundation’s affairs in accordance with the association’s rules. It can also form or delegate responsibilities to subcommittees when particular tasks require additional attention. Meetings are generally held through an online forum, consistent with the international and distributed character of open-source software communities. The Foundation’s objectives extend beyond simply raising money. They include advancing development of the Firebird relational database engine, maintaining non-commercial mechanisms for accepting and distributing funds, and encouraging cooperation among individual developers, non-profit organizations, and commercial companies connected with Firebird software and related activities. This gives the organization a combined funding, governance, and community-development role. In June 2005, members approved a special resolution changing the organization’s name from The FirebirdSQL Foundation to Firebird Foundation. The change established the shorter name used in later descriptions of the organization. Available reference material does not identify a single founder, a commercial parent, a current executive roster, or a separate portfolio of proprietary products. The Foundation is instead associated with the broader Firebird open-source database ecosystem and operates as a non-profit support body for that project.

• 2005

  Name changed to Firebird Foundation

  [1]Firebird Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  A special resolution passed in June 2005 changed the organization’s name from The FirebirdSQL Foundation to Firebird Foundation.

• 2002

  First Annual General Meeting

  [1]Firebird Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The first Annual General Meeting took place in December 2002, marking the transition from interim administration by the FirebirdSQL Foundation Steering Group to governance through the Foundation’s elected membership structure.

A non-profit ecosystem organization that finances and coordinates development of the open-source Firebird relational database and encourages collaboration among contributors, non-profit groups, and commercial participants.

• Open-source software ecosystem support

  Firebird database development support

  The Foundation supports continued development of the open-source Firebird relational database engine. Its contribution is organizational and financial rather than the sale of a proprietary product: membership dues, sponsorships, and related mechanisms help fund development and activities connected with the Firebird software project.

• Non-profit funding program

  Membership and sponsorship program

  Membership dues and sponsorship arrangements form the Foundation’s principal support model. These programs enable individuals and companies to contribute resources that can be administered and directed toward Firebird development, project infrastructure, and cooperation across the wider Firebird community.

• 2005

  Adoption of the Firebird Foundation nameOther

  Background

  The organization had originally operated under the name The FirebirdSQL Foundation.

  Action taken

  Members approved a special resolution in June 2005 changing the name to Firebird Foundation.

  Aftermath

  The shorter Firebird Foundation name became the organization’s subsequent identity in descriptions of its non-profit support role for the Firebird project.

  Source

1. 1Firebird Foundationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Firebird Foundation official websitefirebird.sourceforge.net