Open Collective Official Statement - OCF Dissolution
Dear Open Collective Community, It is with sad hearts that we have heard the news about Open Collective Foundation decision to dissolve, effective December 31. The full content of their announcement, which came as a surprise to us, can be found here, and they have also created an FAQ. We are still grappling with the realities of this decision, which has sent subsequent shock waves through the Open Collective ecosystem and community.
Open Collective. Inc (OC) is a for-profit entity. We are responsible for building the Open Collective Platform that many fiscal hosts use for their operations.
These entities all have similar names and share similar origins, having been started by the founders of Open Collective and incubated in the Open Collective ecosystem, but are independent nonprofits with their own budget, accounts, staff, board of directors, and mission. They each have a separate commercial relationship with Open Collective. Over recent years the Open Collective ecosystem has experienced rapid growth. While the above four organizations have historically been close partners, as they have grown, they have also become more and more distinct from one another, and are completely separate in their functions, despite their similarities in name and branding. Thus, Open Collective Foundation has made this decision completely independently.
Over the course of the last year, OCF made us aware of increased technological needs, to which we have been responding with new features and other forms of support. It appears that, despite our shared efforts, OCF has not found a viable and sustainable path forward. The exact specifics of OCF’s decision to dissolve are not known to us. Open Collective Foundation is one of the largest nonprofits using the Open Collective Platform, and as an organization, Open Collective will need to evolve in response to these changes. What is most important to us, however, is the fate of Open Collective Foundation’s collectives. We will do everything we can as a platform and as a company to support their transition to whatever is next.
