The Maxava iFoundation is once again pleased to announce a new funding pool to assist IBM i user groups to grow and strengthen within the IBM i community, following the record applications granted for 2014.

Now in its fifth year, the Maxava iFoundation (established by Maxava) offers grants to interest groups for the general promotion and free exchange of knowledge, ideas, and skills related to IBM i. Applications for grants are welcomed from any not-for-profit organization helping to enhance the broader IBM i community in any part of the world. Funding of US$50,000 has been confirmed by Maxava to allow the foundation to offer grants of up to a maximum of US$2,000 (depending on number and merit of applications) for each qualifying organization.

Last year the record number of applicants received included a significant increase in the European groups applying for funding. The increased interest was reflected in the extremely positive response to looksoftware’s iBelieve Europe tour in which Maxava participated in 2014.

Maxava iFoundation grants can be used to support activities such as educational conferences and workshops, speaker expenses, marketing and educational collaboration with local colleges and universities and other, similar growth activities.

Skip Marchesani from the Vermont Midrange User Group (VTMUG) described how his group has benefitted from their Maxava iFoundation grant:

“Our key goal is to provide our members with current, quality education for the IBM i,” explains Marchesani. “We host a one-day technical conference in the fall of each year. The Maxava iFoundation grant allows us to take the conference to the next level by bringing in top, nationally known speakers who are the experts in their respective fields. This lets us offer quality education at a very reasonable price, with the result that many IBM i professionals who can't necessarily attend the larger IBM i events can still access this kind of expertise locally. Basically, the reason they can take advantage of the VTMUG conference is because of the iFoundation grant.”

"Maxava has supported the IBM i community for a number of years," said Allan Campbell, CEO of Maxava. "It has been great to see the recently reported improvement in IBM i sales and we hope this might signal a sustained upturn in fortunes. As well as being a peerless platform for business applications generally, IBM i provides a superb platform for Cloud-based solutions, offering great scope for the future.

"We are delighted to help ensure that a professional and engaged IBM i community has the necessary support to take advantage of new opportunities and flourish into the future,” he added. “Maxava would like to acknowledge all of the volunteers that give generously of their time, and work incredibly hard in the community on an ongoing basis. We are delighted to renew support and lend a hand through the Maxava iFoundation for another year.”

Interested organizations should visit maxavaifoundation.com to view application criteria and download the application form. Submissions should be received by 30 June.