Merge pull request #104 from mathesar-foundation/funding_announcement

Added funding announcement blog post

_data/authors.yml

@@ -9,4 +9,10 @@ kriti_godey:
   role: Project Lead at Mathesar
   bio: >
     Kriti Godey is the project lead of Mathesar and works on most aspects of the project. She first started working on open source as head of engineering at Creative Commons, and worked at various startups before that.
-  image: /assets/kriti.jpg
+  image: /assets/kriti.jpg
+mathesar_foundation:
+  name: Mathesar Foundation
+  role: 
+  bio: >
+    Mathesar Foundation is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that maintains the Mathesar open source project.
+  image: /assets/images/profiles/mathesar-square.png

_posts/2024-03-15-live-stream-on-github-open-source-friday.md

@@ -2,13 +2,13 @@
 layout: post
 title: "Mathesar Featured on GitHub's Open Source Friday Live Stream"
 tags: event interview video
-date: 2024-03-20
+date: 2024-03-15
 author: sean_colsen
 description: "Mathesar Featured on GitHub's Open Source Friday Live Stream"
 image: /assets/images/312196414-f05d6cf4-f0af-4da1-a5c6-3d48d034249b.jpg
 ---
 
-Last week I had the pleasure of joining GitHub's Open Source Friday live stream to talk about Mathesar with Kedasha Kerr, Developer Advocate from GitHub.
+Today I had the pleasure of joining GitHub's Open Source Friday live stream to talk about Mathesar with Kedasha Kerr, Developer Advocate from GitHub.
 
 Watch the full 45 minute interview below:
 
@@ -19,4 +19,3 @@ The live demo was a fun way to weave together many of Mathesar's latest features
 The sample data featured in the video is available for anyone to play with on our [live demo](https://demo.mathesar.org/).
 
 Many thanks to Kedasha for hosting!
-

_posts/2024-03-28-live-stream-on-github-open-source-friday.md

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Mathesar Foundation Receives $3 Million from the Reid Hoffman Foundation to Advance Data Collaboration"
+tags: announcement news
+date: 2024-03-28
+author: mathesar_foundation
+description: "Mathesar Foundation Receives $3 Million from the Reid Hoffman Foundation to Advance Data Collaboration"
+image: /assets/images/2024-03-funding-announcement-image.png
+---
+
+We are excited to announce the establishment of the Mathesar Foundation to focus on the development and sustainability of the Mathesar open source project, fueled by a generous grant of $3 million from the Reid Hoffman Foundation. With this grant, we will be able to build a stable and featureful version 1.0 of Mathesar, invest in increasing awareness and adoption of the project, and establish a fundraising program to ensure the project's long-term sustainability.
+
+The Mathesar Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, spearheaded by CEO and project lead Kriti Godey. Kriti, a seasoned software engineer, brings extensive expertise building open-source communities and leading distributed engineering teams. The board comprises Godey; Samantha Bates Weinstock, an experienced professional in nonprofit and academic spheres, currently oversees operations for xD, an emerging technologies team at the U.S. Census Bureau; and Ian Alas, an entrepreneurial generalist with a varied background in startup and corporate ventures, presently managing special projects for Reid Hoffman.
+
+We extend our sincere gratitude to Reid Hoffman for his invaluable support in establishing and fostering the growth of the Mathesar Foundation. His encouragement not only serves as a validation of our vision and endeavors but also greatly enhances our capacity to effect positive change. We are excited about the opportunities this grant opens up for us to advance our mission and improve the effectiveness of data in solving other problems.
+
+### Mathesar's Goals
+
+We believe that the world is a better place when human decisions are grounded in reality and understanding. Data can help with that, but the utility of data is limited by the tools available to work with it. Current data tools come with trade-offs: they lock their users into their ecosystem, don't let users have full control over their own data, and are often inflexible and difficult to use. 
+
+This problem has been solved at the lower level of the technology stack. Open source databases like PostgreSQL have been mainstays for decades and solve many data problems elegantly, but their power is only accessible by software developers.
+
+Mathesar aims to be a new kind of tool that is easy to use for non-technical users, while also prioritizing technical users' needs like data normalization, data portability, and interoperability with existing database tooling. By championing openness, interoperability, and community involvement, Mathesar is helping build a more informed, connected, and empowered world.
+
+### Progress So Far
+
+Currently, Mathesar is in its alpha stage, with early adopters testing it out for a variety of use cases. We release new versions every month (here's our [Feb 2024 release](https://docs.mathesar.org/releases/0.1.5/)). We are actively working toward launching a stable beta version in the next few months, prioritizing improvements in security, performance, and usability. Despite being in the early stages, our community is rapidly growing, with numerous committed early adopters, 2200 GitHub stars, and more than 90 contributors to our codebase.
+
+### Getting Involved
+
+If you're interested in Mathesar or you'd like to get involved, please check out:
+
+-   [Our website](https://mathesar.org/) to learn more about the product
+-   [Our GitHub repository](https://github.com/mathesar-foundation/mathesar) to contribute to the project
+-   [Our mailing list](https://mathesar.org/mailing-list.html) to stay up to date on Mathesar's progress
+
+If you'd like to work with us or have any questions, please don't hesitate to email us at <[email protected]>.

authors/mathesar_foundation.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+layout: author
+author: mathesar_foundation
+title: "Blog - Mathesar Foundation's posts"
+permalink: /blog/authors/mathesar_foundation/
+---
+