❗Dissolution FAQ and Plan
Last updated
Last updated
Read our update about the dissolution of Open Collective Foundation here.
All money in your fund should be spent on mission-aligned activities or transferred to another 501(c)(3) organization by September 30.
At the end of the day (midnight PT) March 15, all donation platforms will be shut down, including Stripe, PayPal, Benevity, and crowdfunding. Collectives will also no longer be able to accept transfers via ACH after March 15. Any donations made via check or ACH that are in transit by the end of the day March 15 will be credited.
If you have not received funds you were expecting, please fill out this form and we will help identify missing funds.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for the 600+ collectives at OCF. While all collective balances must be spent down by September 30, there are many ways to go about this.
Regardless of your chosen path forward, all expenditures must be allowable under 501(c)(3) regulations and devoted to your charitable purpose. You can’t use your collective’s funds to influence legislation, to support breaking the law, or for private profit. We are not allowed to transfer any funds to individuals* or for-profit companies.
Here are the most common scenarios, and who they would be most appropriate for.
| Option | What’s involved | Who should consider |
|---|---|---|
If a collective fails to reach out to us by April 1 with a proposed plan, we will be reaching out with a plan based on our assessment of the collective’s activities. Our recommendation will be based on your balance amount, income history, spending activity, charitable purpose, and level of complexity.
*Collectives who have been previously approved under our Cash Assistance Policy may continue their cash assistance programs with the required documentation.
If you identify another fiscal sponsor that you would like to move your collective to, review the Leaving OCF documentation and reach out to us at generalinquiries@opencollective.org.
We will need to confirm that your new fiscal sponsor is a 501(c)(3) organization, and we will need to perform standard due diligence to help assure that the successor fiscal sponsor is qualified and reasonably capable of using transferred assets consistent with their charitable purposes.
If you choose to go to a new fiscal sponsor, the following information is needed to transfer funds:
Bank-provided ACH/direct deposit info for your new fiscal host/fiscal sponsor (e.g., bank verification letter)
W9 from new fiscal host/fiscal sponsor
IRS Determination letter from new fiscal host/fiscal sponsor
List of all current grants and their balances. If grants are being transferred to your new fiscal host, we require a signed letter from the grantor for their release to the new entity.
A copy of your MOU/signed agreement between your collective and your new fiscal sponsor
If you are seeking 501(c)(3) status, we cannot transfer any funds until you've received your IRS determination letter.
Start by reviewing the Leaving OCF documentation, then notify us ASAP via generalinquiries@opencollective.org.
The following information is needed to transfer funds:
Bank-provided ACH/direct deposit info for your new nonprofit legal entity
W9 from new legal entity
IRS Determination letter for new legal entity
List of all current grants and their balances. If grants are being transferred to your new organization, we require a signed letter from the grantor for their release to the new entity.
Note: This option is likely only viable for a small handful of collectives who have already started this process or may be able to get expedited 501(c)(3) status. For information on starting a nonprofit, see this FAQ.
If you choose this option, we will require a backup plan (either transferring your full balance to another 501(c)(3) organization or transferring to another fiscal sponsor).
If you cannot spend all of your funds on qualified charitable expenses by September 30, OCF will grant the remaining fund balance to another qualified, mission aligned organization.
Tell your donors you can no longer accept donations after March 15. If you are anticipating donations, expecting a grant, or planning a fundraising campaign, reach out to us at generalinquiries@opencollective.org and we can discuss your options.
Any recurring donations through the Open Collective platform will be discontinued as of March 15. Recurring donors will be notified automatically that their recurring donation is canceled. All third party contribution-processing platforms (Stripe, Benevity, PayPal, etc.) will be shut down March 15.
We understand how sudden all of this is. Our goal and first priority in making this announcement more than 6 months prior to the end of the spend-down date was to ensure that collectives had plenty of time to spend down existing funds. Unfortunately, our legal counsel has indicated that once we announce dissolution it is no longer appropriate for us to accept funds for a charitable cause that we know is going to sunset. There may be some rare cases where we can make an exception for check and ACH contributions, but we need to know as soon as possible. Email generalinquiries@opencollective.org. We encourage you to work with donors to make contributions within the quickest possible time frame. They may also retain the funds they have allocated to your project until you have identified another fiscal sponsor or obtained 501(c)(3) status.
This spreadsheet created by the New Economy Coalition contains a number of mission-aligned fiscal sponsors as well as resources about fiscal sponsorship.
The National Network of Fiscal Sponsors maintains a database of their members.
Many fiscal sponsors have requirements that some collectives may not meet. If you are having trouble finding a new home for your work, you can reach out to us for support in thinking through options by emailing generalinquiries@opencollective.org.
We are not able to manage the transfer of all collectives to another fiscal sponsor due to the diversity of our collectives’ mission and complexity.
However, we are happy to discuss your options as you consider whether to move your project to another sponsor.
Start here: How to Start a Nonprofit - National Council of Nonprofits
We can transfer to another qualified 501(c)(3) organization and have to perform the same due diligence process described above. Many of the other hosts on the Open Collective platform are not 501(c)(3) organizations. Get in touch with us to discuss by emailing generalinquiries@opencollective.org.
Each collective has its own employment practices. All employees will need to be laid off by June 30 at the latest, but the date will vary based on your collectives’ employment agreements, geographic location, fund balance, and more. All collectives with employees need to contact us ASAP at generalinquiries@opencollective.org.
No. If you have any questions, contact us at generalinquiries@opencollective.org.
If collectives have selected liability insurance, their policies are paid in full for 2024. OCF's liability coverage applies through the end of the year, so it will cover your collective through your offboarding with OCF. Insurance policies are non-refundable.
Yes. The steps to download your complete transaction history and expense data are in the platform documentation here. You can download your contributor data by following the instructions here.
Emails and files can be migrated to a new Google Workspace you set up using the Migration Tool. You do not need access from OCF to migrate this data. You must ensure that you turn on the Less Secure Apps setting in the Security section of your OCF Google Workspace account. Once this is done, you can migrate email. Your files can be manually transferred to a new owner or moved to a Shared Drive on the new Google Workspace. Once these steps are completed, you can email us to release the domain from the OCF Google Workspace and allow you to configure it on the new Google Workspace.
Open Collective Inc. (OCI) is a for-profit entity responsible for building the Open Collective platform. Open Source Collective (OSC) and Open Collective Europe (OCE) are separate entities, each with different nonprofit status under law. OCF, OSC, and OCE were all founded by OCI. We realize it can be confusing, but Open Collective Foundation (OCF) is an independent nonprofit with its own board of directors.
The OCF board of directors decided to dissolve OCF only very recently, after many months spent exploring other solutions to various financial and operational challenges.
OCI, OSC, and OCE learned of the decision the same day as our community of collectives and our core staff. You can read each of these organizations’ official statements here:
Open Collective, Inc. Statement Open Collective Europe Statement Open Source Collective Statement
The best way to contact OCF during the staged wind-down is through our general inquiry inbox at generalinquiries@opencollective.org . This will ensure that your inquiry is routed to the right person and you get a response as quickly as possible.
Spend down and sunset
File expenses as usual via the online platform (Reimbursements and Invoices) AND/OR Transfer funds to a 501(c)(3) organization. When the collective’s balance reaches $0, we will terminate the fiscal sponsorship agreement and archive your collective.
If you have a smaller balance and some regular expenses. If it is unlikely that you can spend your full balance on regular expenses by September 30, transferring the full balance to a 501(c)(3) organization of your choosing may be the best path forward. If you wish to continue your work under a non-501(c)(3) entity, you need to zero out your balance and leave OCF before starting your work under that entity.
Transfer to a new fiscal sponsor
Make contact with potential fiscal sponsors immediately. (See this list of other fiscal sponsors) Many fiscal sponsors take several weeks to review and approve applications. Submit your new fiscal sponsor’s information to us. (See what information we need)
If you have incoming money (expected donations or grants) and/or you have regular expenses. Finding a new fiscal sponsor may be a more expedient and cost-effective option than starting your own nonprofit.
Start your own nonprofit and transfer fund balance to the new nonprofit.
You will need to form a nonprofit corporation, obtain a federal tax ID number, and obtain IRS 501(c)(3) status prior to the September 30 deadline. This process can take several months. Once your nonprofit is established, you will need to provide us with the proper documentation before we can transfer your funds.
This option is likely only viable for a small handful of collectives who have already started this process or may be able to get expedited 501(c)(3) status. If you choose this option, we will require a backup plan (either transferring the full balance to another 501(c)(3) organization or transferring to another fiscal sponsor).
Transfer funds to OCF
Notify OCF that you would like to transfer funds to us. We will use these funds to assist other collectives in their transition out of OCF and donate any remaining balance to another fiscal sponsor organization as detailed here.
If you have a small balance and no regular expenses and you would like to support the OCF collectives through dissolution.