Python Software Foundation

“The Python Software Foundation is focused on promoting and supporting a diverse, international community. Elected Board Directors usually work at organizations that are part of our community, sponsor the Python Software Foundation, and/or volunteer in some other way. More than one Board member may be employed by the same organization. To prevent a single entity gaining a majority of Python Software Foundation board seats, the Python Software Foundation bylaws cap common affiliation, or co-affiliation, of Board members at one quarter (1/4) of the total Board. A common affiliation is defined as all organizations that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the other entities declared as affiliations by other members of the Board of Directors.”

“No changes were made to the bylaws of the Python Software Foundation during 2023. The corporation's voting membership approved bylaws changes during the annual general election and went into effect on Thursday, August 1st, 2024. The three bylaws changes were: (A) Merging Contributing and Managing member classes, (B) Simplifying the voter affirmation process by treating past voting activity as intent to continue voting, and (C) Allowing for removal of Fellows by a Board vote in response to Code of Conduct violations, removing the need for a vote of the membership. Effective August 10, 2024, additional changes to Article XI of the corporation's bylaws were made. Acting on legal advice, the full Board voted unanimously to amend its Bylaws to no longer extend an offer to indemnify, advance legal expenses, or insure Members when they are not serving at the request of the Foundation. The amended Bylaws still allow for indemnification of a much smaller set of individuals acting on behalf of the PSF such as Board Members and officers, which is in line with standard nonprofit governance practices and for which we already hold appropriate insurance.”

“The Python Software Foundation offers five classes of members during 2023: Basic Members, Supporting Members, Managing Members, Contributing Members, and Fellows. Supporting Members, Managing Members, Contributing Members, and Fellows are eligible for voting privileges. Basic Members are individuals or entities who are part of the Python language community and who have decided to declare their support for Python and agree to the community Code of Conduct; there is no membership fee to become a Basic Member. Supporting Members make an annual donation to the PSF. Managing members dedicate at least five hours per month working to support the Python ecosystem in one of the PSF's working groups. Contributing members dedicate at least five hours per month working on projects that advance the mission of the PSF; the work relates to the creation or maintenance of open source software available to the public at no charge. Fellows are members nominated from the broader community and elevated by a vote of the members for extraordinary efforts and impact upon Python, the community, and the broader Python ecosystem.”

“Supporting Members, Managing Members, Contributing Members, and Fellows are eligible for voting privileges during 2023. Voting members elect Fellows and the Board of Directors. Basic Members have no voting rights.”

“Form 990 and associated schedules are prepared by the PSF Accounting staff. Copies of the draft Form 990 (including required schedules) are distributed to the Finance Committee in electronic form for review and approval. The PSF Accounting staff make updates as needed. Copies of the updated draft Form 990 are then distributed to the Board of Directors in electronic form for review and approval prior to electronic signature.”

“Each Director, Officer, and Key Employee must review and sign the conflict of interest policy and fill out a related questionnaire. The signed documents are kept by the Executive Director. The highest standards of ethics apply for all PSF Members, Officers, and Directors. Possible conflicts of interest are disclosed in writing to all decision-makers prior to any action. Directors, Officers, and Key Employees may recuse themselves from votes to avoid a conflict of interest; board votes must pass by a majority of the disinterested directors. A full explanation of the conflict of interest policy can be found at the Python Software Foundation's website at https://www.python.org/psf/records/board/policies/conflict.”

“Annually, the Board of Directors reviews the performance and compensation of the Executive Director. The Board Chair leads the review conducted with the Executive Committee. No person with a conflict of interest is involved in the performance review and compensation recommendation.”

“No changes have been made to the organizing or governing documents of the Python Software Foundation. Organizing and governing documents, as well as financial records, are available upon request and publicly available at python.org/psf/records.”

“When adding activities, discontinuing activities, and, annually, the Python Software Foundation's management reviews and analyzes the activity against the approved tax-exempt mission. If any activity is deemed not to fit into the tax-exempt mission, it is documented, discussed with the Board of Directors and disclosed on Form 990. For the tax year ended December 31, 2023, all activities fit into the Python Software Foundation's approved tax-exempt mission.”

“The Python Software Foundation receives complimentary hosting and other information technology services from several providers including Fastly, AWS, `and Google. A major grant from OSSF funded hiring a new Security Developer-in-Residence, while new Georgetown and AWS grants funded bringing on a new PyPI Safety and Security Engineer. The PSF concluded spending on a large 2022 grant from Bloomberg for a Python Packaging Project Manager to identify and prioritize new feature development. A 2023 grant from Meta continued funding for the CPython Developer-in-Residence, who focused on CPython improvements and bug tracking and fixing.”

“The Python Software Foundation (PSF) aims to maintain cash reserves to offset the risk of lower-than-expected attendance at PyCon or fluctuations in individual and corporate giving patterns.”