Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone out there. I hope the festive season has been going well and you are healthy and safe.

I look forward to seeing more of you in 2023 at a SQL Saturday in your area.

This is a final update for 2022 on the state of SQL Saturday. I have current events as well as some administrative updates.

In this update:

  • A note from the President
  • Upcoming Events
  • Finances

A Note from the President

As we close out the first full year of a new SQL Saturday organization, I want to remind everyone that SQL Saturday is a US public charity. We are not controlled or managed by Redgate or any other organization. We are independent and have a board of directors from the Data Platform community.

It’s been surprising to me how often I’ve written this message or told people, yet many people still think Redgate controls SQL Saturday. They donated the brand and transferred the trademarks in 2021 to a non-profit that I set up. I appointed a board, and they have the votes to decide how the franchise and brand are managed.

This year was better than I expected. Throughout the year I have been alternately excited and disappointed in promoting SQL Saturday events. My goal at the start of the year was 10 events, and we exceeded that. There were 18 events (2 virtual) in 2022. We have 7 scheduled for 2023 (1 virtual) and 2 reserved dates.

We also negotiated to give Summit passes to organizers in 2022. I think we had 12 or 13 organizers attend the event, and I am hoping we can continue this program in 2023. I am also hoping we can have some other rewards for organizers. Suggestions are welcome.

As we close out the year, I’m happy with our finances and operations. I am hopeful that we will see more events in 2023 in more communites as the world continues to move towards normalcy. My goal for next year is 25 events, and I hope to add another global sponsor. I also look forward to seeing more of you are events in different cities next year.

Thanks for listening and I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Steve Jones

Upcoming Events

Here is a list of upcoming SQL Saturdays:

We also have Boston tentatively scheduled for Oct 7 and Orlando set for Oct 14.

Please contact us if you want to organize an event in your area. Please also let your local user group know if you would like to see a SQL Saturday in your area and volunteer to help them run one.

Finances

I wrote a post on the finances for SQL Saturday for 2022. The summary is this:

  • Funds spent in 2022 - $343.00
  • Current asset balance - $4732
  • Sponsorship funds in escrow - $500
  • Sponsorship funds received in 2022 - $19,750
  • Sponsorship funds disbursed in 2022 - $19,250

Multiple people told me we’d need a budget that was higher. I had people tell me anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000 would be required. I told everyone that this had to cost less than $5000.

I hit those numbers, mainly because I’ve been careful about choices for infrastructure. We currently use:

  • Google Workspace - $0 as non profit for email
  • Mercury Bank - $0 for most transactions as a non profit
  • Github Pages - $0 for hosting the main website and blog site
  • Github repos - $0 for board discussions and documents

I have let a trademark expire, and another comes due in 2024. I am slightly concerned about these, so I am working on some fundraising ideas. I would also like to recognize and send some token gifts to SQL Saturday organizers.

That’s about it. Please contact us if you have any questions.

As always, a reminder that we are growing SQL Saturday again, independent of PASS or any other company. Please forward this email along to others and remind them to register for our mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/hwVBKn