Merge pull request #255 from 2i2c-org/networks

content/blog/2024/funding-community-networks/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+title: Towards scalable and sustainable networks of community hubs
+date: "2024-06-18"
+lastmod: "2024-06-18"
+authors: ["Chris Holdgraf"]
+tags: [sustainability]
+categories: [updates]
+featured: false
+draft: false
+---
+
+Over the past several years, 2i2c has built a platform for serving community-centric hubs that provide a digital home for workflows in creating and sharing knowledge.
+See [our three-year retrospective](https://2i2c.org/report-czi-2021) for a report about the growth and impact this service has had.
+
+During that time, we've experimented with several models for funding and sustaining this infrastructure.
+We've tried everything from direct cost-recovery from individual communities, to institutional contracts that cover several hubs, to grant-based models that fund many communities at the same time.
+
+There are pros and cons associated with each, and we believe that a combination of all of them is important for a long-term service sustainability model for 2i2c.
+However, with this post we'd like to share the community funding model that strikes the right balance between short-term sustainability and scalability.
+
+In short: 2i2c aims to serve **networks of communities** that are joined by a domain or workflow, and **fund the network at once** rather than through one-on-one contracts.
+
+{{< figure src="funding-diagram.png" title="A model of the funding and service relationships we aim to build.">}}
+
+We believe that this model strikes a balance between "scalable and very simple hubs" (which require a lot of administrative toil) and "fully bespoke hubs" (which are expensive and unscalable).
+By using a single funding contract to serve many communities, we can reduce the amount of sales and contracting toil for each community.
+This will let us raise funds more quickly, and focus more of our time on delivering service.
+
+## We are seeking community leaders to collaborate
+
+If you're part of one or more communities that would benefit from cloud infrastructure for creating and sharing knowledge, and believe a network like this would benefit you, please reach out!
+We are seeking leaders collaborate in designing service for networks like the ones described above, and identifying potential funding sources for it.
+
+If you're interested in collaborating on this, send an e-mail to [`[email protected]`](mailto:[email protected]).
+
+## Learn more
+
+You can find more information about this fundraising and service strategy in [our Team Compass documentation](https://compass.2i2c.org/partnerships/fundraising/).