I’m not sure about what path to choose, but either way I expect to contribute fully to OFN globally.
Looking at the community pledge, it seems the white label path may be the way to go.
On a related subject:
Open Collective has two organizations, the one that provides the platform to collectives, and a foundation that acts as a fiscal host for a lot of collectives.
The fiscal host charges 5% of all deposits in a collective’s main account to provide the services that help collectives run AND stay in compliance with the IRS. They give a portion of what they collect to the development of the platform.
Might I suggest considering a similar model? E.g. OFN Foundation is a fiscal host, and the devops ( and other support systems, e.g. on-ramping ) get funded by a percentage of the whole network’s revenue.
There is a gaping hole in the startup process… what kind of entity will be responsible legally? I’m assuming that Cooperatives are the favorite form of incorporation for OFN members, but if you investigate the OC foundation I think that you’ll find that there is a much easier way to start up.
Non profits, coops, etc. all require boards of directors and officers. Collectives do not. Those positions are filled by the parent organization, the fiscal host. The collectives themselves can choose any form of self-governance. This makes the operations of the collectives much less formal and more responsive.
If OFN became an OC fiscal host ( a legal option ), many of the money problems could be solved and it would be much easier to ramp up and and maintain shops and hubs. It also addresses the issue of “what kind of affiliate are you?” as everyone would be under the same fiscal host. Also, donations and grants could be accepted at every level and scale and still use global administration.
OC’s open accounting system can also be a real boon as it is completely transparent and uses participatory governance to decide how to allocate funds at each level.
In terms of possible integration partners, that would be one of the first I would choose.
That is my long answer to your short question. BTW, no problem signing a pledge. Mechanically, how?