Dissolution of Open Collective Update
Published on March 7, 2024 by Rev. Drew Stever
Hi there Community,
We hope your March is treating you well. May the inching toward Spring help soften your shoulders and lift your gaze toward what's colorful and beautiful.
We wanted to take a few moments to share an update about Koinonia's fiscal sponsor, Open Collective Foundation. But first, a quick summary:
We hope your March is treating you well. May the inching toward Spring help soften your shoulders and lift your gaze toward what's colorful and beautiful.
We wanted to take a few moments to share an update about Koinonia's fiscal sponsor, Open Collective Foundation. But first, a quick summary:
- Open Collective Foundation (our fiscal sponsor) announced that it is dissolving at the end of the year. We need to sort of quickly identify a new fiscal sponsor, or other next step forward for Koinonia.
- Koinonia will no longer be able to receive contributions after March 15th unless we identify a new fiscal sponsor and get set up with them before then.
- Koinonia will still be able to disperse funds until September of this year with the funds remaining after March 15th.
- For those who wish to contribute an additional amount prior to March 15th, please do so.
- For those who contribute monthly, your payments will end after March 15th.
- The world is hard, but we can do this work together.
The Full Piece:
Open Collective Foundation (our fiscal sponsor) announced that they are dissolving at the end of this year. The Open Collective platform is not dissolving - just the fiscal sponsor. Open Collective, Inc. has multiple fiscal sponsors available and the OC Foundation is one of them.
They have shared that collectives can choose to identify a new fiscal sponsor - either within Open Collective, Inc. or outside of it - and continue to receive funds through Open Collective. Collectives can also form their own 501c3 and use Open Collective, Inc. as a platform for their financial management.
They have stated that collectives (Koinonia) will no longer be able to receive funds after March 15th. They will, however, still be able to disperse funds through September.
They have shared that collectives can choose to identify a new fiscal sponsor - either within Open Collective, Inc. or outside of it - and continue to receive funds through Open Collective. Collectives can also form their own 501c3 and use Open Collective, Inc. as a platform for their financial management.
They have stated that collectives (Koinonia) will no longer be able to receive funds after March 15th. They will, however, still be able to disperse funds through September.
Drew has asked Kelly Marciales to research what it would look like for us to apply for another sponsor so that we don’t jeopardize losing our money or have a lapse in our ability to receive funds. They took a few days to respond, but here is their response:
- Collectives may change fiscal sponsors, but the process to do that is tedious and may not be quick. They provided us with a list of fiscal sponsors, but not many of them align with our values or what we’re doing.
- The last day to receive funds is March 15th. This will effect the growth of our communal pot , but also the growth of our Projects’ pots as well (Namely Austen Hartke’s fund)
- The last day to disperse funds is in September. While we won’t be able to receive funds, we can disperse them beyond March 15th.
We are working on setting up a time to meet as a leadership pod to discuss best next steps forward as a collective and our relationship with Open Collective.
In the mean time, if you are someone who is able to contribute to the communal pot, Austen's Support Project, or both, please do so before March 15th. If you contribute monthly with auto-pay, your payments will most likely end after March 15th.
Your contributions to this work of mutual support is greatly appreciated and does not go unnoticed. You all win. To the final bullet point: the world is hard and it doesn't seem to let up sometimes. You actually aren't alone and we actually can do this together.
If you have any questions, or require more clarity, please reach out to [email protected].
With gratitude,
the Koinonia team