What does BLU get from Culminis???

[Jerry Kincade]

    Hello to Boston!  I am a member of the local Linux/Unix group where 
I live, and pretty new to Linux.  I have come to really appreciate Open 
Source thinking and, of course, Open Source Software.  However, at work 
I am a Windows drone, and likely to remain one for some time.  Oh 
well... it's a living...  Anyway, I was flipping through a Windows 
magazine and came across an article about a new Non-profit organization 
called Culminis (www.culminis.org).  Reading the article and checking 
out the web site with an admittedly skeptical eye towards Microsoft's 
involvement, I was suspicious of their agenda and motivations.  My first 
instinct was to see this as a FUD-fount for Redmond, intended to dress 
up product placement and infomercials as friendly philanthropy, akin to 
MS support for the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute.
    I made a quick scroll through the list of (they say, I didn't count) 
450 member groups (www.culminis.org/MemberOrganizations.htm).  Only two 
of these groups have Unix or Linux in their name.  One is Boston Linux & 
Unix, complete with a link to your web site.
    So I am curious.  What was the motivation for BLU to join the 
Culminis Aliance Program (CAP)?  Does your group see a positive agenda 
and some value in this association?  Does this Microsoft funded 
organization have a vendor/OS neutral message consistent with it being 
"non-profit"?
    Thanks for your time.

    --  Jerry  --