The current Board of Directors has re-established a commitment and unified goal on supporting the Judging Community; more importantly, providing the dollars, resources, and infrastructure to allow individuals to grow and lead their community as they see fit. Hence, the JF Conferences Committee, led by Stephan Classen, and the JF Judge Recruitment, led by Ryan Sears, are being supported and performing amazing work! However, two major community aspects have been missing from Judge Foundry’s efforts: advocating/recognizing the production of quality educational content/opportunities and supporting judge tools that we all use at events. With further-ado, it is my pleasure to introduce the new Leads and Members for our Community Partnerships Committee and Community Project Grants Committee.
Community Partnerships Committee
With the major goals of funding community judge tools and forming positive and lasting relationships with community members/developers, the Community Partnerships Committee is led by Arya Barrieau. If you like to learn more about this committee’s roles and responsibilities, feel free to read the project charter. If you are interested and excited to join this committee, feel free to reach out to Arya or Khailyn Schaefer. Thank you, Arya, for your efforts on this committee, already, and I look forward to supporting and collaborating with you and your team.
Community Project Grants Committee
With the major goals of funding quality educational materials/programs and funding projects, resources, and materials that truly benefit the judge community, as a whole, the Grants Committee is led by a new face, Jenn Taylor. This committee is not new, and it was previously led by Noah Rabin; thank you, Noah, for your efforts and dedication to the Grants Committee, especially the approval and advocacy for the 2025 Review Contest. As the committee changes leadership and processes, Bryan Prillaman and Jon Goud have stayed on the committee, and Garrison Fogt and Steven Krysiak are joining as new members.
Jenn has been a powerful and pivotal advocate for more recognition and transparency when it comes to funding Project Grants, especially when they are educational in nature. After collaborating with the Board of Directors and input from the community, we wanted to clarify the rules surrounding the Grants Committee:
1. The proposed project must not simply pay people to volunteer.
– What counts as volunteer work that is central and normal Judge Foundry volunteer actions? That’s a great question, and it makes this statement/rule difficult to dissect and analyze. Luckily, the Board and the Grants Committee generated and reviewed a list of actions that would be considered core volunteer work for JF, and in turn, would exclude a grant from receiving funding: Creation/Providing of exam content, serving on committees, working on official projects, serving in leadership positions (Board, Regional Advocates, Committee/Project Leads, etc.), proctoring exams, writing reviews outside of a contest, and/or serving on advancement panels. If your Project Grant does not compensate in any of these core volunteer domains, your Grant will be considered for funding.
2. The proposed project must benefit the judging community.
– As a judge certification organization which serves all of its members, we want to provide funding to grants that serve the judging community, as a whole. If you do not know how to turn a grant that is designed for a specific population of individuals, the Grants Committee can help you scale it back.
3. The proposed project must be focused on the United States and Canada.
– Judge Foundry is the judge certification organization for the United States and Canada, so the project should focus its efforts on the judges in those geographical locations.
4. The lead of the proposed project and a majority of the project’s members must be Judge Foundry members in good standing.
– This is a floating measure. Meaning, a project won’t be instantly de-funded if a contributor quits and moves it from 52% JF members to 48%. But if people want access to the organization’s resources, they need to be members of the organization. This also means that a majority, including the Project Lead, need to be American and Canadian judges.
5. The proposed project must comply with any other guidelines established by the Board of Directors.
– Nothing super complicated here; no funding of illegal shenanigans or projects that go against Judge Foundry’ mission.
Thank you to Jenn and their team for their focused efforts and detailed work here, already. If you have a project or idea that you would potentially like some monetary support for, please apply to have your Grant reviewed using this Google form. If you do not know where to start or need some guidance about a project, the Project Grants Committee will review, analyze, and collaborate with you regarding your Grant. I look forward to continue working and collaboring with this committee, as well!
