How to Apply

Applying to be hosted by Open Source Collective takes only minutes!

When you are ready, you can apply to Open Source Collective here.

If your project is registered with GitHub we may be able to verify and accept your application immediately. Select ‘verify using GitHub’ and follow the instructions. Read more.

Otherwise, we will ask you some questions about your project and manually approve your project within a few working days. Read more.

If we have questions about your application, we may reach out to you to schedule a chat or request additional materials.

Before you apply:

1. Read through our full documentation and review the Terms of Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement

2. Ensure that you meet our acceptance criteria and are familiar with the Open Collective Community Guidelines

3. Have at least 2 community members ready to add as admins. Admins have full permissions to change settings, approve expenses, and make financial contributions from the budget balance of your collective. Applications with less than 2 admins will not be accepted.

4. Review our fees.

As a reminder:

• You retain ownership of all your intellectual property.

• We will hold and manage funds on behalf of your collective, and we won't use them for anything else.

• If you want to enter into an agreement with anyone else as your collective, such as a contract with a vendor or providing a specific service to a sponsor, you need to get in touch. Legally the agreement would be with Open Source Collective.

Moving to Open Source Collective

Moving from another host on Open Collective

If you are transitioning from an organisation that uses the Open Collective platform, the process is relatively simple.

Moving from an organisation not on Open Collective

If your collective is currently with another organization that does not use Open Collective, the process will depend on that organization’s requirements. Generally they will transfer your money to OSC and we will get you up and running on Open Collective.

Please be sure to communicate your plans to us within your application and your current organisation in advance of your application to ensure a smooth transition.

Contact us at [e-mail] to ensure we can support you quickly and appropriately.

Once you have tied up any loose ends with your current host, they can transfer the funds to us electronically. We can issue an invoice to them and sign agreements if needed. Our normal fees apply to funds transferred in.