Hello! If you are receiving this email, it is because you are a member of one of Raft Foundation’s fiscally-sponsored projects - or will be quite soon. We send out this bulletin in the latter part of every month.

New documentation website, with many updates

This month we have been working hard to transition our documentation to a new platform, an open-source, self-hosted wiki software called Wiki.js. Apologies for any broken links! But this is a significant improvement, in every way except stylishness. The main advantage of this is the ability to host public, member, and Raft team documentation all on one website. 

The new docs platform allows us to offer new, public guidance on How To Donate, Invoices, Reimbursements, Driving, and Expense Tips, that you can share with donors and partners - while still providing password-protected documentation to all of you. 

While we were at it, we also updated the guidance on the Expense Checklist page, and added a note on many of the pages indicating whether or not they applied to Model A projects, Model C, or both. (The new documentation also has improved changelogs, in case you want to look back at what changes have been made.) 

In addition to the above updates, we have added or edited several pages that are only visible to project members. To log into the docs and read these member-only pages, you will need to log in. Go to the login page and use your email address, with the password ‘themany’ and you will be prompted to create a new password. If you have any trouble just send us a message and we will help.

The pages in question:

• Add the Other Donation Logistics page, which has information on in-kind donations (which have a new form!), donation invoices, and donations of cash

• Added the Joining Raft page, which replaces the old Onboarding page with an updated application and onboarding flow

• Added a page with Nathan’s director contact information, in case something urgent comes up

Community announcements

If there are any events, publications, or other announcements that we should share in the next bulletin, please send us an email and we will be happy to include them.

New projects

Please join us in welcoming the Relational Technology Project, Forage Org, Grant Witness, and Tending Futures! We are genuinely excited to have them as part of the Raft community.

Operational notes

• As of August 1, the Member Fund balance sits at $1,499.11. We will soon begin setting our first participatory budgeting process. Have an idea for how those funds could be used, for the benefit of the larger group? Leave a comment on this thread in the forum (join here!) with any ideas you may have.

• We added to our guidance for potential new partners a list of ineligible project types

• A long-running project with our bookkeepers - Key Figures Coop - to more tightly integrate Open Collective with Quickbooks Online is nearly complete! You will see no difference, but the investment in this project will do wonders for Raft in the long term.

• Our development of a multifaceted, comprehensive policy for project grantmaking (what we call Grant Programs) is nearing completion as well, with several projects poised to put it to the test.

• After trialing our bank’s virtual debit cards with a couple different projects, we are now piloting a different, more fully-featured virtual card system with one of our projects, for use on their monthly expenses. Ideally, this will work well, and they will increase our credit limit, and we will expand the program to be available to others. Stay tuned.

• We are beginning a project to develop a set of robust, custom-but-not-too-custom HR policies that are as “radical” as possible. We will soon be bringing on our first cohort of fiscally sponsored project employees.

• Despite Nathan’s best efforts, the menus and buttons on the new documentation website remain bright blue. If you know a web designer who can help, or if you would be willing to give theming it a try yourself, let us know.

~

Only in silence the word,

Only in dark the light,

Only in dying life:

Bright the hawk's flight

On the empty sky.

Ursula K. Le Guin

~

Warmly,

Raft Foundation