About Open Collective#

Open Collective was founded to make communities more sustainable. What began as a tool for open source and grassroots groups has grown into a global infrastructure for transparency, collaboration, and shared financial stewardship.

Our Beginnings#

The foundations of Open Collective were laid in 2015, when our founders realized that community groups were held back by the need for legal status to receive and manage money.

Their solution was a new kind of financial infrastructure: one that gives groups access to fiscal sponsorship, enabling them to raise and spend funds under the umbrella of a trusted legal entity while staying focused on their mission.

For many, this was transformative. Collectives could finally operate openly, with transparent budgets and clear public ledgers, reassuring contributors and partners alike. From the start, transparency was at the heart of our model, not just in how money moves but in how decisions are made.

Attracting investment#

Open Collective Inc. raised two rounds of investment, totalling nearly $3M ($815k in convertible notes in 2015–2016, and a $2M Series Seed in June 2017), enabling the platform to reach groups across the world.

The company sought investors committed to social good rather than "hyper-growth," and retained majority ownership and control of its decisions throughout — a choice that shaped the path toward the next phase, community ownership.

Growing the movement#

In the years that followed, the platform became home to thousands of communities across the world, from open source projects and climate initiatives to local mutual aid networks.

To better serve this global community, we helped launch a family of nonprofit fiscal hosts such as Open Source Collective and Open Collective Europe. Each has extended the reach of our mission and adapted the model to local needs.

When global crises emerged, these hosts enabled thousands of collectives to mobilize resources quickly and act where they were most needed. From digital infrastructure to solidarity projects, the Open Collective Platform became a trusted backbone for collaboration.

Transitioning to community ownership#

In 2022, Open Collective Inc. announced its commitment to an "exit to community," a pledge to evolve from a traditional startup into a community-owned platform.

That vision became reality in 2024, when stewardship of the platform transitioned to a new nonprofit: the Open Finance Consortium Inc. (OFiCo), a U.S. 501(c)(6) association created by and for the fiscal hosts and communities who rely on it.

OFiCo now governs the platform collectively, while its subsidiary OFi Technologies (OFiTech) operates the platform. Together, they continue the original Open Collective mission: enabling transparent, collaborative finance for communities everywhere.

How we're financed today#

OFiCo is financed by its members, who pay membership fees based on their financial capacity and the level of influence they want in the organization. OFiTech is financed by platform tips from financial contributors and by fees paid by platform customers — organizations subscribe to a Discover, Basic, or Pro plan based on how many Collectives they host and how many expenses they process. See Pricing for more details.

Want to donate? You can contribute directly to OFi Consortium, the non-profit stewarding the Open Collective Platform, or OFi Technologies, which maintains the platform.

A note on naming#

The Open Collective name is also used by a separate web3 project, opencollective.xyz, run independently by the previous company Open Collective Inc. It is not part of the platform described in this documentation.

Our future#

Today, the Open Collective Platform, operated by OFiTech under OFiCo's stewardship, powers thousands of collectives and organizations managing millions in contributions across currencies, countries, and causes.

Our work continues to evolve, but the core principle remains unchanged: money should move in the open, in service of communities.

As we enter this new chapter, our mission is to strengthen and expand this infrastructure for the long term, ensuring that the tools of open finance remain open, sustainable, and collectively governed for the years ahead.