Author: Michael Dexter

We are pleased to announce that the Karels family is sponsoring a permanent Mike Karels Travel Fund to reduce barriers to attending BSDCan.

The 2026 Mike Karels Travel Fund grant is a reimbursement of $500 USD to three attendees for whom a little help makes the difference between attending and not attending, in exchange for a post-event blog post.

Anyone can apply but we specifically welcome members of any under-represented groups.

To qualify you must:

• Be prompt in your communication, due to tight deadlines
• Make your own travel and accommodations arrangements, and register for the conference
• Be willing to write a post about your experiences at BSDCan for our Blog

To apply, email grants@bsdcan.org with:

• Your name
• If you have attended BSDCan before
• If you have already registered for BSDCan 2026
• If you are comfortable having your name recognized as a grant recipient
• What you hope to learn or achieve at BSDCan
• What other financial support you are receiving for BSDCan
• What under-represented demographic(s) you represent, if any

2026 Travel Grant Application Deadline: May 26th
Approval date: May 29th

 

As many of you know, Michael “Mike” J. Karels tragically passed away on his way home from BSDCan 2024.

Mike made profound contributions to BSD, beginning with his help on CSRG’s  4.4BSD-Lite release, and continuing in countless ways up until the day we lost him. With the blessing of his family, we invite you to honor his legacy with a contribution to the BSDCan Travel Grant Fund. We have received just over $1,250 CAD in contributions to the fund to date and aim to grow it to provide a single grant for long-distance travel each year, and a few smaller grants for individuals for whom a little help will make the difference between attending and not attending.

David Maxwell took this photo of Mike and me at the BSDCan 2015 social event and while it looks like we’re old friends who just discussed an important issue or subsystem, the truth is I only knew his work at the time. We had our first and only long talk at Father and Sons less than 48 hours before he passed away. He told me about the companies he had worked at and was every bit as delightful as his reputation suggested. I cherish that long-overdue moment we had together and will kick things off with my own $100 USD contribution to the Travel Grant Fund.

I invite you to do the same, especially if events beyond your control are
understandably preventing you from attending BSDCan in 2025.

Thank you Mike for the joy and code you brought us all and thank you all for helping honor him.

Michael W. Lucas auctioned off Mike’s own early-backers edition of “Run Your Own Mail Server”, “Ruin Your Mail by Running it Yourself”, and related Challenge Coin to support the Travel Grant Fund, with permission of the Karels family, brining in 175 €.

The finances of the Mike Karels Travel Grant Fund are managed by BSDCan Conferences Inc., a Canadian non-for-profit. You can donate via paypal@bsdcan.org indicating the “Mike Karels Travel Grant Fund”, or reach out to us at info@bsdcan.org for wire transfer information.

BSDCan 2025 Travel Grant applications are open until May 17th with responses May 20th.

Sincerely,

Michael Dexter
BSDCan Fundraising Lead