📝 Overview

As we continue to grow and evolve at the GitLab Foundation, we remain dedicated to upholding core principles that will guide our progress as a fully remote organization. This commitment will enable us to achieve sustainable growth while preserving the unique culture and values that define us. We aim to:

1. Foster Collaboration and Prevent Silos: Promote collaboration by encouraging cross-functional projects, fostering inclusive leadership, and regularly assessing organizational dynamics to prevent silos.
2. Focus on Results and Enable Clear Prioritization: Maximize impact by focusing on the most critical tasks and projects, empowering team members to concentrate on high-impact activities.
3. Enhance Efficiency and Productivity: Streamline processes and continuously optimize workflows to improve operational efficiency and productivity, ensuring tasks and projects are completed effectively and on time.
4. Promote Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging: Promote diversity and inclusion within the organization and create opportunities for all team members to contribute, build camaraderie, and thrive. This will ensure equitable practices and a strong sense of belonging.
5. Embrace Iteration and Continuous Improvement: Foster a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging regular iteration, learning from feedback, and making incremental adjustments to processes and projects to achieve better outcomes.
6. Ensure Transparent Interaction and Communication: Maintain timely and transparent information flow throughout the organization with clear communication channels, regular all-hands updates, documentation in the Handbook, and encouragement of open feedback and interaction.

With these principles as our foundation, we are confident in our ability to navigate the complexities of growth while maintaining our strong organizational culture.

💬 Communications at GTLF

Asynchronous (Async) Communication

The GitLab Foundation embraces asynchronous work as a core part of its remote-first model—supporting flexibility, inclusivity, and efficiency across time zones. Guided by GitLab Inc.’s expertise in asynchronous workflows, we prioritize well-documented communication, clear expectations, and strong documentation to empower autonomous, effective collaboration without reliance on real-time interactions. Tips for async work:

• Centralize in the Handbook – Keep processes and guidance up to date for easy self-service.
• Document Decisions – Make outcomes visible to reduce repetition and build shared context.
• Default to Async First – Opt for async updates before scheduling meetings.
• Communicate with CREDIT Values – Be clear, results-oriented, transparent, and actionable.
• Respect Time Zones – Add context and deadlines to support global collaboration.
• Minimize Meetings – Use async updates (e.g., reports or recordings) instead of routine check-ins.
• Encourage Ownership – Clarify task owners so it’s clear who to go to for updates or decisions.
• Use Async Feedback – Collect and share input without requiring real-time responses.
• Celebrate Wins Publicly – Share milestones and challenges in Zoom channels and the handbook to foster transparency and recognition.

Communication Norms

At the GitLab Foundation, we prioritize transparency, collaboration, and efficiency. This guide outlines when to use Zoom channels, group chats, direct messages, and email to stay aligned, minimize fragmentation, and foster shared understanding.

Team members who are out of office (OOO) are not expected to respond to communications. Time off is essential for well-being, preventing burnout, and returning to work refreshed and focused.

#️⃣ Zoom Channels

Zoom Channels are the primary tool for work-related communication at GTLF. Team members should use them for questions, updates, and announcements, posting in the most relevant channel and tagging those who need to review. This approach encourages transparency, fosters awareness and collaboration around the work happening across GTLF, and helps reduce notification overload by preventing fragmented conversations across multiple direct messages or group chats.

Team members can adjust their notification settings to help streamline messages. Click here to learn how!

Key GTLF Zoom Channels

💬 Zoom Group Chats

Group Chats are reserved for informal communication among function members (Operations team, Programs team, Measurement team, etc.). This is a space for casual team updates and check-ins (e.g., “running late for a meeting”; written overview of tasks you are working on for team StandUps).

👤 Zoom Direct Messages (DMs)

At GitLab Foundation, we aim to default to transparency and public communication. However, there are valid reasons to use DMs.

✅ Appropriate Uses of DMs

❌ Avoid Using DMs

📧 Email

Use email for external communication, formal topics, or when a response isn’t urgent. It’s ideal for engaging partners and sharing structured updates or documents. Use Zoom Chat for internal, time-sensitive collaboration, quick questions, and cross-team coordination.

👥 Email Groups

🧠 Organization-Wide Meetings

All GitLab Foundation team members are expected to participate in the following meetings. We do not schedule organization-wide meetings on Fridays that are required. While occasional meetings may occur on Fridays, attendance will be optional and typically reserved for urgent or time-sensitive matters.

GTLF Team StandUp (optional)

Ask Me Anything (AMA) with the President & CEO

GTLF Bi-Weekly Team Meeting

Grant Strategy & Approval Meeting (optional for some)

All-Hands In-Person Team Meetings

👥 Teams

The GitLab Foundation organizes work by function to promote collaboration, efficiency, and flexibility. Each team is led by a function lead who provides direction, manages team performance, and ensures alignment with organizational goals. This structure supports transparent communication, agile work, and shared accountability.

Function lead: Leads a specific function, aligning team goals with the organization’s mission, supporting performance, and fostering a strong team environment. Function leads differ from DRIs, who can be appointed by function leads. Function leads have the freedom to structure their team ways of working and meetings, but must follow some requirements:

Structure

🛠️ Team Ways of Working (WOW)

Click on a function below to learn more about how each team operates, collaborates, and contributes to the Foundation’s goals.

• **Leadership:** Function Lead: CEO. Members: Function leads of each team
• **Measurement:** Function Lead: Director of Impact Measurement & Analytics. Members: Managers of Impact Measurement & Analytics
• **Operations:** Function Lead: Director of Operations. Members: Grants Manager, Operations Coordinator, Executive Assistant to President and CEO
• **Partnerships:** Function Lead: Chief Programs and Partnerships Officer. Members: Philanthropic Partnerships Manager
• **Programs:** Function Lead: Chief Programs and Partnerships Officer. Members: Sr. Program Officers, Program Officers
• Finance: Function Lead: CFO

📅 GTLF Team Calendar

The Foundation maintains a team calendar to promote transparency around key activities across the organization.

Please click here to add the calendar to your Google Calendar so you're aware of upcoming events and milestones.

1. PTO: Team members must add any time off to the team calendar
2. Travel: Team members must add any work-related travel to the team calendar
3. Meetings: conference attendance and any meetings others should be aware of (Board of Directors meetings, in-person team meetings, etc.)
4. Important team dates: birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

You can easily send a calendar invite to the GTLF Team calendar by adding “Team Calendar” as a guest on the calendar invite. Meetings that require team members' attendance should be sent directly to them and adhere to our established remote meeting guidelines.

🏋️ Organizational Training and Development

To foster the growth and development of our team members and ensure alignment with our organizational goals, we will offer several opportunities over the coming months, which may include:

• Technical and Systems Training: Keeping team members up-to-date with the latest tools and technologies used at the Foundation.
• Site Visits and Grantee Meetings: Providing hands-on learning experiences and deeper insights into the work of our grantees on the ground.
• Professional Development: Offering comprehensive development opportunities to enhance various skills and knowledge across the team around topics and areas relevant to work at the foundation (impact, strategy-related areas, AI, etc.)
• IT and CyberSecurity: Equipping team members with the knowledge and skills to protect our organization from cyber threats.

We also encourage team members to learn more about Professional Development at the Foundation.

⚙️ WOW Resources

Making Decisions

Open Door Policy

Remote or Virtual Meetings

Resources, Tools, and Tech