A link was posted to the Louisiana Association of Non-profit Organizations (<a href="http://www.lano.org/explore.cfm">http://www.lano.org/explore.cfm</a>) during our meeting last night.  While this is probably a good place to look for information on whether or not we want to become an official non-profit, if you look around the website, it also could be an opportunity. Who can benefit more from free open source software than non-profit organizations who have very little in the way of financial resources.  On their front page is a link to a "Tech Talk" on Microsoft Word.  Below that is a pdf called Budget Basics.  In their description of this pdf they say it "is designed to help you better understand the state's budget, advocate for fiscal policy & affect the financial priorities of the state."  What better way to save the state money than by using free open source software?  The argument can be made that this would cost more in installation and support costs, but I believe there are savings to be had even if we only get the state to selectively replace Microsoft Office with OpenOffice. If you look at their FAQ, they have a technology section.  The very first item is about upgrading to Windows Vista and Office 2007.  They recommend not upgrading at this time.  A perfect opportunity. They do have sources of low cost software.  They are able to get Windows XP for $8 and Office 2003 for $16.  Those are incredible prices, but from the FAQ, there are limitations.  Some companies place restrictions on how, when, and what can be ordered and they must also provide proof of their non-profit status.  These are things they wouldn't have to do with free open source software.  Even at such low cost, if a non-profit needs software for more than a handful of computers, even these low cost items will add up and take a bite out of already limited budgetary resources.  I believe any cost savings provided to a non-profit organization would be significant.  They are also likely to be more receptive to free open source software. They are not averse to free products.  Looking at the FAQ further, they already recommend CutePDF for creating PDFs.  They mention it is free, but don't mention that it uses Ghostscript which is licensed under the GPL. These are things I found in less than 10 minutes of looking over their website.  Surely there are other areas in which open source software would be an enormous asset to them and other non-profit organizations. An additional opportunity to spread Ubuntu and free open source software might be Capital Area Corporate Recycling Council (CACRC).  They are listed as a resource to the non-profits for obtaining low cost computer equipment.  I assume they don't distribute these refurbished computers with an operating system, though I'm not certain.  Approaching companies of this type would be a good way to further spread open source awareness.  If you are able to offer your customers a fully functional computer with almost every a software program to do almost anything they need, that sounds like an advantage over your competitors. What can we do? Wesley