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PSF Membership Types & FAQ

The mission of the Python Software Foundation is to promote, protect, and advance the Python programming language, and to support and facilitate the growth of the international community of Python programmers.

—from the Mission Statement page

What does it mean to be a member of the PSF?

Being part of the PSF means being part of the Python community. In 2014, we changed the bylaws to make the PSF an open membership organization, so that everyone who uses and supports Python can join.

For those who wish to participate more, we have classes of membership that include voting rights for those who contribute time, work, and money to the foundation.

What membership classes are there?

There are five classes of members: Basic Members, Supporting Members, Managing Members, Contributing Members and Fellows.

  1. Basic Members 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 cost to be a Basic Member. You can sign up as a basic member right here on the site.
  2. Supporting Members Supporting Members make a specific annual donation to the PSF to sustain the Foundation and support the Python community. Supporting Members are eligible to vote. You may combine Supporting Membership with any other Membership - i.e. you may sign up for Supporting Membership and also be a Basic, Managing, or Contributing Member or a Fellow. You can sign up as a Supporting Member here.
  3. Managing Members and Contributing Members Managing Members are people who dedicate at least five hours per month working to support the Python ecosystem - by organizing Python events, managing or contributing to PSF projects, running infrastructure, participating in one of the PSF’s working groups, etc. Contributing Members are people who dedicate at least five hours per month working on projects that advance the mission of the PSF, where the work relates to the creation or maintenance of open source software available to the public at no charge. Managing and Contributing Members are eligible to vote. There is no cost to be a Managing or Contributing Member. For details on signing up as a Managing or Contributing Member, refer to this form.
  4. Fellows Fellows are members who have been nominated for their extraordinary efforts and impact upon Python, the community, and the broader Python ecosystem. Fellows are nominated from the broader community and elevated by a vote of the members. Fellow members are eligible to vote. More info on the nomination process is available here.

Who is allowed to vote?

Who is eligible: Supporting Members, Managing Members, Contributing Members, and Fellows are eligible for voting privileges.

To vote you must be 1) eligible to vote, and then 2) affirm each year you would like to exercise your voting privileges.

More information on affirming your voting status is here.

How does a person become a PSF Fellow?

To nominate someone to be a PSF Fellow member, please send your nomination to psf-fellow@python.org. More info on the nomination process is available here. The criteria for becoming a PSF Fellow are as follows:

For those who have served the Python community by creating and/or maintaining various creative contributions, the following statement should be true:

“[Nominated Person] has served the Python community by making available code, tests, documentation, or design, either in a Python implementation or in a Python ecosystem project, that 1) shows technical excellence, 2) is an example of software engineering principles and best practices, and 3) has achieved widespread usage or acclaim.”

For those who have served the Python community by coordinating, organizing, teaching, writing, and evangelizing, the following statement should be true:

“[Nominated Person] has served the Python community through extraordinary efforts in organizing Python events, publicly promoting Python, and teaching and coordinating others. [Nominated Person]‘s efforts have shown leadership and resulted in long-lasting and substantial gains in the number and quality of Python users, and have been widely recognized as being above and beyond normal volunteering.”

In all that this person does, [Nominated Person] is an example of what we aspire to be in the Python community.

What does the PSF do?

The majority of the PSF’s work is focused on empowering and supporting people within the Python community. The PSF has active grant programs that support sprints, conferences, meetups, user groups, and Python development efforts all over the world. In addition, the PSF underwrites and runs PyCon US, the primary Python community conference.

The PSF serves as a primary point of contact for organizations seeking to work with Python, to support Python, or to sponsor Python development. The PSF provides a structure by which work, donations and sponsorships can be coordinated worldwide.

The PSF also holds and protects the intellectual property associated with Python and the Python community - like the word “Python,” the two-snakes logo, and the terms “PyLadies” and “PyCon.” We make sure that these terms are used appropriately and only for the benefit of the Python community.

You can learn more here or in our latest Annual Report.

How can I ask other questions?

Please send questions to psf-donations@python.org.