1  # Software Freedom Conservancy Inquiry
  2  
  3  **Draft for review — not yet sent**
  4  
  5  ---
  6  
  7  **To**: apply@sfconservancy.org  
  8  **Subject**: Fiscal Sponsorship Inquiry — Cerro Torre (Supply-Chain-Verified Container Distribution)
  9  
 10  ---
 11  
 12  Dear Software Freedom Conservancy team,
 13  
 14  I am writing to inquire about fiscal sponsorship for a new free software project called **Cerro Torre**.
 15  
 16  ## Project Summary
 17  
 18  Cerro Torre is a supply-chain-verified Linux distribution for containers and immutable systems. It provides:
 19  
 20  - **Formally verified tooling** written in Ada/SPARK with machine-checked proofs of correctness
 21  - **Complete cryptographic provenance** from upstream source to deployed container
 22  - **Democratic cooperative governance** with no corporate owner
 23  - **Format-agnostic architecture** importing packages primarily from Debian
 24  
 25  The project addresses a gap in the container ecosystem: existing options are either limited in supply chain transparency (Alpine) or governed by VC-backed companies whose interests may diverge from users' (Wolfi/Chainguard). Cerro Torre aims to demonstrate that critical infrastructure can be developed and governed democratically.
 26  
 27  ## Why Conservancy?
 28  
 29  Several aspects of Conservancy's mission align with Cerro Torre's goals:
 30  
 31  1. **Commitment to software freedom**: Cerro Torre is dual-licensed MIT/AGPL-3.0-or-later, ensuring users always have access to source and the freedom to modify.
 32  
 33  2. **Democratic governance**: Like Conservancy member projects, Cerro Torre is committed to community governance. We are drafting cooperative bylaws with asset locks, fork protection, and no path to corporate acquisition.
 34  
 35  3. **Debian affinity**: Cerro Torre builds primarily on Debian's package ecosystem, chosen specifically because Debian shares our democratic governance values. Conservancy's relationship with Debian-adjacent projects suggests cultural alignment.
 36  
 37  4. **Long-term sustainability**: We seek a fiscal home that prioritises project health over growth metrics. Conservancy's track record with projects like Git, Inkscape, and Selenium demonstrates this commitment.
 38  
 39  ## Current Status
 40  
 41  Cerro Torre is in early development (Phase 0: Foundations). We have:
 42  
 43  - Complete specifications for the package manifest format, provenance chain, and transparency log protocol
 44  - Draft governance documents (cooperative articles, community covenant)
 45  - Ada/SPARK source scaffolding for the core tooling
 46  - A clear technical roadmap
 47  
 48  We do not yet have:
 49  - Released software
 50  - Other contributors (this is currently a solo project)
 51  - Funding
 52  
 53  ## What We're Seeking
 54  
 55  At this stage, we are primarily seeking:
 56  
 57  1. **Guidance**: Is Cerro Torre a good fit for Conservancy? What would you need to see before considering membership?
 58  
 59  2. **Fiscal home (eventually)**: Once the project reaches minimum viability, we would like Conservancy to handle donations, hold trademarks, and provide legal guidance.
 60  
 61  3. **Community building**: Association with Conservancy would signal to potential contributors that this is a serious, values-aligned project.
 62  
 63  We understand Conservancy evaluates projects carefully and may prefer to see more development progress before formal sponsorship. We're happy to proceed on whatever timeline makes sense.
 64  
 65  ## About Me
 66  
 67  I am Jonathan Jewell, an Associate Lecturer at The Open University pursuing PhD research in formal verification and programming language design. I serve in several leadership roles within the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), including NEC member and chair of the PR & Communications Council, which has given me experience with democratic governance structures.
 68  
 69  I am based in the UK. If Cerro Torre grows to need a legal entity, my intention is to form a UK cooperative (Community Interest Company or Cooperative Society), with Conservancy potentially serving as fiscal sponsor for international donations and US-based activities.
 70  
 71  ## Questions
 72  
 73  1. Does Cerro Torre seem like a project Conservancy might consider sponsoring?
 74  2. What milestones would you suggest we reach before applying formally?
 75  3. Are there other Conservancy member projects working in adjacent spaces that we should coordinate with?
 76  4. Is there anything about our governance approach or licensing that raises concerns?
 77  
 78  I would be grateful for any guidance you can offer, even if the answer is "come back when you have working code and other contributors."
 79  
 80  Thank you for your time and for the vital work Conservancy does for software freedom.
 81  
 82  Best regards,
 83  
 84  Jonathan Jewell  
 85  [email]  
 86  [GitLab: https://gitlab.com/cerro-torre]
 87  
 88  ---
 89  
 90  ## Attachments (to include with submission)
 91  
 92  - [ ] README.md
 93  - [ ] governance/articles.md (draft bylaws)
 94  - [ ] governance/covenant.md (Palimpsest Covenant)
 95  - [ ] spec/manifest-format.md
 96  - [ ] spec/provenance-chain.md
 97  
 98  ---
 99  
100  ## Notes for Jonathan
101  
102  **Before sending:**
103  
104  1. Review and personalise — this is a template, add your voice
105  2. Create the GitLab organisation (gitlab.com/cerro-torre)
106  3. Push the initial repository
107  4. Decide if you want to include all attachments or just links
108  5. Add your actual email address
109  
110  **Conservancy's process:**
111  
112  - They evaluate projects on technical merit, community health, and mission alignment
113  - They may suggest starting as an "evaluated" project before full membership
114  - Expect a thoughtful response but potentially slow timeline (they're thorough)
115  - Karen Sandler and Bradley Kuhn are the key decision-makers
116  
117  **Alternative if Conservancy says no/not yet:**
118  
119  - Software in the Public Interest (SPI) — more hands-off
120  - Open Source Collective (via Open Collective) — simpler, less prestigious
121  - Form UK CIC directly — more work but full control