Dear Open Collective Foundation initiatives and contributors,
We are looking for 1 or 2 people to join our Board. Open Collective Foundation is a nonprofit with a tech platform that enables over 300 groups to raise and spend over $13 million dollars a year in full transparency.We are 1 node in an international network of 600 non-profits, LLCs, and co-ops around the world that use the same, open source software to create efficiencies with money.
*Board members are people who āsteer the organization towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, as well as by making sure the nonprofit has adequate resources to advance its mission.āĀ
based in the US and experienced with the 501(c)(3) nonprofit structure
excited about Open Collective Foundation (OCF)āespecially if youāre involved in one of our hosted initiatives!
skilled in one or more of the following areas: law, HR, funder collaboratives, or fiscal sponsorship; or guiding nonprofit organizations with $5-10M operating budgets that are experiencing rapid growth/scaling quickly.
a champion of transparency, participation, solidarity, and social impact
actively working to spread power and wealth and root it in community, e.g., participatory budgeting, mutual aid, open source software, #landback, bail funds, strike funds, giving circles ā in line with our strategy of Solidarity as a Guiding Principle
excited about our cutting-edge tech platform (OCF is one node in an international network of 600 non-profits, LLCs, and co-ops around the world that use the same, open source software to create efficiencies with money). View the Open Collective website and docs for more info about the platform OCF uses.
ready to participate in and help us grow collective governance, both in respect to facilitating more participation from our hosted initiatives in aspects of governance, and preparing for OCF to participate in governance of the OC platform (which is aiming to Exit to Community)
available 5 hours a month for a 2-3 year term (see āCommitmentā below)
comfortable supporting a remote, online team that is both collaborative and autonomous.
If this is you, please fill out this EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FORM. We encourage you to send this to people you know who would be great Board members!
Process
We will be taking submissions between now and March 21st. Our team will interview shortlisted candidates and invite selected directors to join the board in the summer of 2022 for a 2-3 year term. Email Caroline at opencollective dot com if you have any questions.Ā
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Context + Mission
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Open Collective Foundationās mission is to provide a simple, open, lightweight path for initiatives and communities to operate through a 501(c)(3) entity. We provide Fiscal Sponsorship as a service, with a tech-enabled, open finances infrastructure for ideas and communities to come to life. We started in 2017 and by 2019 we helped collectives raise $300,000. By 2020 collectives in OCF raised $5M, and last year, over 300 collectives raised $7M. After multiplying 16x in 2020 we saw another 2.5x in 2021. As we continue to grow and get approached with opportunities, we are seeking to expand our working Board.
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Current Board Members and Executive Director
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Alanna Irving is the Executive Director of OCF. Irving is also a co-founder of Loomio (for collective decision making), CoBudget (for participatory budgeting), and Enspiral (a cooperative network of social entrepreneurs). Irving says āI explore bossless leadership, opensource org dev, cooperative governance, participatory technology, impact entrepreneurship, and collaborating with moneyā for a radically optimistic future.ā She also serves as COO of Open Collective Inc.
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Andrew Trask is an OCF Board Member and the Creator & Leader of one of the largest collectives on Open Collective Foundation - called OpenMined. He is also a PhD Student at the University of Oxford.
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Pia Mancini is an OCF Board Member andCo-Founder & CEO at Open Collective, actively working to transition OC from a privately owned company to a structure that allows us to share power and revenue with you via #e2c. Piaās background is in participatory political movements in Argentia and next-paradigm governance through open technology.
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Kaitlin Thaney is an OCF Board Member and the Executive Director of Invest in Open Infrastructure, a non-profit initiative dedicated to improving funding and resourcing for open technologies and systems supporting research and scholarship.She previously served as the Endowment Director for the Wikimedia Foundation, where she led development of a fund to sustain the future of Wikipedia and free knowledge. She's a Trustee of LYRASIS, a technology and services nonprofit serving higher education, libraries, archives and museums; and Code for Science & Society, a fiscal sponsor serving the open source and public interest technology sectors.
We are looking for someone who can agree to the following Time Commitments, Roles, and Responsibilities:
Ā Board Time commitment: Total of 5 hours a month (estimate)
Respond/Provide feedback 2-3 business days after an ask
Comfort using slack and other online web tools
Attend monthly 1-hour meetings
Currently on third Wednesday of the month 3-4pm ET
Ability to commit to a 2 year term and 3 year terms so not everyone leaves at the same time! With option for renewal for 2-3 years.
Join a Committee
Audit committee - 2 hours a month
Fundraising committee - 2 hours a month
Open to other committees as needed
Ability to review reports, strategy documents
Take an active role in participating in and promoting OCFās work in your networks
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Board Roles & Responsibilities:
Advise and work with OCF Executive Director on strategic development:
Provide input on strategic direction and policies
Provide guidance and input on strategic planning
Serve as the EDās backstop support and advocateĀ
Evaluate how well OCF is fulfilling its vision, mission and values;
Ensure policies support OCF to be accountable to its stakeholders
Help OCF reach its best impact potential in the world
Serve as a champion for OCF:
Articulate OCF vision, mission and values to the public
Communicate OCF direction and activities to your communities
Support and advise the Executive Director as needed
Make introductions and help steward opportunities for funding and partnerships
Risk & compliance oversight:
Participate in overseeing the annual audit process
Ā Review OCFās policies and processes for compliance and risk management
Ā Provide guidance to help operational decision-making align with compliance requirements
Ā Give feedback to help iteratively improve reporting and information flows to ensure we flag risks
Ā Apply your knowledge of best practice and regulations to keep us on the right track
