**Subject:** Funding Request for OSL Summer of Code Fellowship – Empowering Unfunded GSoC Candidates

**To:** \[Name of Funder or Organization]
**From:** \[Your Name / Organization]
**Date:** \[Insert Date]
**Subject:** Proposal for Supporting the OSL Summer of Code Fellowship

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Dear \[Funder's Name / Organization],

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to request your support for the **Open Science Labs (OSL) Summer of Code Fellowship**, an initiative designed to provide opportunities for talented contributors who were not accommodated in the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2025 due to limited slots.

### **Background**

In GSoC 2025, OSL was honored to receive four project slots. However, nine strong candidates, vetted and approved by OSL mentors, could not be accommodated because of the limited number of GSoC slots. To uphold its mission of providing meaningful, real-world experience to open-source contributors, OSL is launching the OSL Summer of Code Fellowship—a complementary initiative that allows these nine candidates to work on their approved project ideas under the same mentors during the standard GSoC coding period.

### **Program Details**

* **Duration:** Mirrors the GSoC 2025 coding timeline (June – September)
* **Participants:** 9 candidates vetted and approved by OSL mentors
* **Supervision:** Same mentor team as in the GSoC application process
* **Deliverables:** Project milestones, periodic progress reports, final presentation
* **Certification:** Joint certificate issued by OSL and The GRAPH Network (a global public-health and data-science partner)

### **Funding Requirements**

We are seeking to raise **USD 30,000**, allocated as follows:

* **USD 27,000:** Stipends for participants (USD 3,000 per candidate)
* **USD 3,000:** Fiscal host overhead (10% fee by Open Source Collective)

The final stipend for each participant will depend on the total raised and may range from USD 0 to USD 3,000. All funds will be distributed transparently through the fiscal host.

### **Why Support This Initiative?**

* **Bridging the Gap:** Provides opportunities for qualified contributors excluded solely by slot limits.
* **Advancing Open Science:** Strengthens open science by advancing community-driven software needed in research and education.
* **Promoting Equity:** Offers financial support that enables wider participation independent of economic background.

### **Transparency and Accountability**

All donations and disbursements will be visible on the OSL Open Collective page. Progress reports and final outputs will be archived in public repositories.

### **Campaign Timeline**

* **9 May 2025:** Campaign opens
* **31 May 2025:** Campaign closes
* **Early June:** Funding outcome announced; stipends allocated proportionally
* **June – September:** Coding period with mentor oversight
* **October:** Project results published; certificates issued

We believe that your support can make a significant impact on the careers of these aspiring contributors and the open-source community at large. We would be delighted to discuss this proposal further and provide any additional information you may require.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to support the next generation of open-source contributors.

Warm regards,
**\[Your Name]**
\[Your Title/Organization, if any]
\[Email] | \[Phone] | \[Website / GitHub if relevant]