Open Collective Brussels (OCB) is a non-profit (ASBL/VZW) acting as an enabler for easy citizenship activation. 

It lends its registered name, bank account, address, financial transparency tools and crowdfunding platform to citizen groups, enabling them to quickly set up a collective, raise funds and manage them transparently. 

Each initiative has its own collective that can receive money independently. All the accounting is fully transparent. This helps donors trust the initiatives but it also helps collectives to learn from each other.

FAQ

An open collective can collect one time and recurring donations (monthly or yearly). This includes public and private subsidies, as well as sponsorships and donations. Anyone in the community can file expenses for reimbursement. After approval by the administrators of the collective, the host (in this case Open Collective Brussels ASBL) reimburses the expenses. You can also create events and sell tickets and sponsorships.

Check out these examples:

It's free to create your collective on Open Collective Brussels, create events and file expenses. If you want to collect money, you first need to become a member of the collective BrusselsTogether (€10/month).

If you want to receive money online (useful for recurring donations), the platform Open Collective charges a 5% fee + credit card fees (1.4% + €0.25 for European cards and 2.9% + €0.25 for non-European cards).

In addition, Open Collective Brussels ASBL/VZW charges 3% fee on all incoming payements. OCB is the legal entities that collects money on behalf of open collectives so that they don't have to worry about accounting, taxes, etc. We also provide extra services such as insurances, fiscal attestations, employee contracts so that you can run your collective as your own entreprise without taking care of the overhead. 

We are fully transparent with our own money, see our own BrusselsTogether Collective and anyone is free to submit an expense to the collective for things that will help the entire community.

You can hire people (freelancers or via SMartbe). You can also hire employees if you receive subsidies or grants. Volunteering and complementary activity is also possible. 

Nothing prevents you from also creating an open collective on OCB to benefit from the network. There is no exclusivity.

There are many people who are trying to bring Brussels to the 21st century. People who are trying to redefine mobility, education, environment, art, culture, etc. 

Yet, these communities often do not have access to the right tools, contacts, and smart ecosystem that could help them sustain their activity.

That's what we want to explore with Open Collective Brussels. Can we recreate a city from the bottom up, with transparency, inclusiveness, and an experimentation spirit at its core? A city where everyone is invited to contribute? A city where everything is possible.

By contributing to the collectives below, you are helping the development of this new city. A city that invites its citizens to contribute. A city that makes it easy for them to create associations to improve the quality of life for all.

We all have something to contribute.

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