Who and What is OSC?
What is Open Source Collective?
About Open Source Collective
Open Source Collective's (OSC) mission is to promote sustainability and health in the open source ecosystem, while working to benefit all those who create and use open source software.
Our primary service is fiscal hosting, a model that allows us to provide open source projects with the legal and financial infrastructure needed to. Think of us as an ‘API' between the world of open source communities and the world of accounting and invoices.
Why is OSC a 501(c)(6) instead of a 501(c)(3)?
OSC is a member-based nonprofit, with our hosted projects being our members. We are structured as a 501(c)(6) organization — a nonprofit designation for entities that promote the shared interests of a specific field or industry. In our case, that field is open source. This status gives us flexibility to collaborate with other entities while staying focused on our mission.
The IRS generally does not consider open source software to be a public benefit solely because it's free and open source software (FOSS). This means many open source projects may not qualify for 501(c)(3) status, which is reserved for organizations with charitable, educational, or a similar public benefit.
Want to learn more? Here are a couple of articles that provide additional information and context related to open source and the IRS:
Note: this is not legal advice. For specific questions regarding IRS designations, please consult a nonprofit attorney.
Our Mission
Our mission is to promote sustainability and health in the open source ecosystem, while working to benefit all those who create and use open source software.
Our Vision
To create an environment where it is as rewarding and financially secure to build and maintain software for the commons as it is for corporations.
What We Think
These philosophy statements describe how we approach our work:
People are more important than code
Open source software is a byproduct of active communities working toward a common goal. We prioritize the needs of people first.
One size does not fit all
Open Source Collective does not impose a structure, a process, or a statute on you and your community.
Strength lies in community
That said, we do believe that strength comes from broad and diverse community-centered approaches. We encourage members to think about distributing their responsibilities and building communities.
Solving problems together
We believe that we can address many of the problems we face by working together. Where possible, we try to solve problems from within and we try to benefit all members in our approaches.
Our Strategy
You can view our 2022-2025 strategy here.
How We're Organized
Board of Directors
OSC's Board of Directors provides strategic oversight, ensuring that our work has impact and is aligned with those in our community.
Who's On The Board?
You can find who sits on our Board of Directors on our website.
Executive Director
The board appoints an Executive Director who is responsible for executing agreements and delivering on the mission of OSC.
Who is the Executive Director?
Our Executive Director is Lauren Gardner
Our Team
The OSC team works behind the scenes to support our hosted member projects, maintaining operations, and provides guidance to the community. Our team is globally distributed across different timezones, allowing us to easily work with projects where they are and provide support across timezones.
Our Code of Conduct
OSC uses the general Open Collective Community Guidelines. As well, we have a Terms of Service, available here. Please take a look a them!
What's the Difference Between Open Source Collective and Open Collective?
If you're considering applying for fiscal hosting with Open Source Collective (OSC), you might be wondering how we relate to Open Collective — especially since our names are so similar. This is a very common question, and we want to clarify the distinction between the two.
Open Source Collective (OSC): The Fiscal Host
OSC is the fiscal host for open source projects and funds. We handle fund administration, compliance, and financial oversight so the projects that we host can focus on building and maintaining open source software.
OSC was originally incubated by Open Collective in 2017, but we are now an independent organization with our own mission, board of directors, staff, and leadership.
Open Collective: The Platform
Open Collective is a fundraising and financial management platform. It provides the software that fiscal hosts — including OSC — use to process donations, manages expenses, maintain financial transparency, and more.
We use Open Collective as a ledger, meaning it services as our real-time, transparent record for every project that we host. All incoming funds, expenses, and transactions are tracked on the platform. Open Collective does not hold any money and is not the financial and legal home for the open source project — it is where financial activity is recorded and manages.
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