{"id":12908,"date":"2026-02-09T11:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flickr.org\/?p=12908"},"modified":"2026-02-09T11:32:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:32:01","slug":"looking-ahead-simplifying-our-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flickr.org\/looking-ahead-simplifying-our-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Ahead: Simplifying our strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Looking Ahead: Simplifying our strategy<\/h1>

We’ve decided to reduce the programming of the Flickr Foundation to weather the current funding storm.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tU.S. National Archives<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n

In spite of our usual positive tone in newsletters and blog posts, 2025 was a hard year for us.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We watched infrastructure for arts & culture and non-profits in the US collapse, and each of our funding proposals with it. We\u2019ve consulted with peers in the philanthropic and federal arenas and mostly heard the advice to hunker down and hold out for as long as possible. We\u2019re staring down the end of our financial runway and must make adjustments.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Late last year, I presented two options to our Board: close down<\/em>, or slow down<\/em>. I\u2019m very glad to report that nobody wants to close down the Flickr Foundation, so we are figuring out what slowing down is going to mean practically. It makes sense to shift the configuration of our programs and the team in order to weather the storm. We’re one of many organisations faced with doing this kind of manoeuvre.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Therefore, we\u2019re going to reduce our programming to focus solely on the maintenance and development of the Flickr Commons<\/a>. The much-loved program remains active and vibrant, with new members joining the program, and thousands of new photos to enjoy every week. Our team will also get smaller, with some of us moving to part-time roles.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This also means any donations<\/a> we receive will fund Flickr Commons directly, as that work is our focus going forward.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We\u2019re still planning the finer details of this transition phase, and we\u2019ll keep in touch on that in the coming weeks. It\u2019s important to us that the work we\u2019ve done in other programs, including the Data Lifeboat service, finds a new home. We\u2019re also mid-stream on some fascinating research on personal digital legacy that we intend to share in March.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On a personal note, it actually proved a relief for me to think about this tough moment in the context of the 100-year plan. What feels like a storm today transmutes into a little bump in a century timeframe.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":192323254,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1022,1023,1373,1568],"tags":[1367,1631,1602,1364],"class_list":["post-12908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about-the-org","category-about-us","category-flickr-commons","category-george-oates","tag-flickr-commons","tag-programs","tag-strategy","tag-team"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLooking Ahead: Simplifying our strategy - Flickr Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.org\/looking-ahead-simplifying-our-strategy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Looking Ahead: Simplifying our strategy - 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