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  • WELCOME
  • Welcome
  • Why Open Collective?
    • Why Open Collective?
    • How Open Collective Works
    • Features
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    • Fiscal Host Documentation
  • Getting Started
    • Getting Started
    • Explore
    • Setting up your Account
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    • Understanding Contributions
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  • COLLECTIVES
    • Collectives
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      • Linking Connected Collectives
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    • Raising Money
      • Setting Goals and Tiers
      • Customising Thank You Emails
      • Adding Donation Buttons, Badges and Banners
      • Adding Embeds to your Website
      • Creating Custom Fundraising URLs
      • Rejecting and Refunding Financial Contributions
    • Managing Money
      • Budgets
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      • Moving money
      • Tagging expenses
    • Spending Money
      • Inviting a Third Party to Submit an Expense
    • Events
    • Changing Fiscal Host
    • Closing a Collective
      • Zero Collective Balance
  • Collective Settings
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  • GIVING TO COLLECTIVES
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      • Refund Policy
  • EXPENSES AND GETTING PAID
    • Expenses and Getting Paid
    • Submitting Expenses
      • Submitting a Reimbursement
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    • Editing an Expense
    • Payment Processor Fees
    • Getting Paid through Wise
    • Understanding Tax Requirements
  • FISCAL HOSTS
    • Fiscal Hosts
    • Why Become a Fiscal Host?
    • Setting up a Fiscal Host
      • Creating a Fiscal Host
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      • Collecting Local Taxes
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      • Freezing a Collective
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    • Receiving Money as a Host
      • Bank Transfers
      • Stripe
      • Adding Funds Manually
      • Pending Contributions
    • Expense Payment
      • Paying Expenses as a Fiscal Host
      • Understanding Security Checks
      • Asking for Information about Expenses
      • Paying Expenses with Wise
      • Handling Payment Errors Through Wise
    • Processing Refunds
    • Platform Settlements
    • Certified Member
  • INDEPENDENT COLLECTIVES
    • Independent Collectives
    • Creating an Independent Collective
      • Launching an Independent Collective
      • Migrating from Fiscal Host to Independent Collective
      • Migrating from Self-Hosted to Independent Collective
    • Managing Independent Collective Finances
    • Closing an Independent Collective
  • Development
    • API
  • Our Organization
    • About Open Collective
    • Mission And Values
    • Our Team
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Welcome

Explore the Open Collective Documentation to learn about our platform. Get set up. Raise and spend Money. Discover and support Collectives Worldwide.

NextWhy Open Collective?

Last updated 19 days ago

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Welcome to the Open Collective Documentation. Here, you’ll find guides and technical information to help you make the most of the Open Collective platform.

What is Open Collective?

The Future is Collective. And Open Collective provides a simple and open way to get there.

Starting your own collaborative group can be frustrating. You may need to obtain legal status, set up a bank account, and work out how to raise and spend your money fairly.

Through our platform, Open Collective allows any community to collect, manage, and disburse money transparently. Open Collective also provides access to a network of "Fiscal Hosts". Fiscal Hosts hold your money in their bank account and handle taxes, accounting, and other financial administration. They also enable you to collect and spend money without needing to form a formal legal entity. Open Collective is also the place to discover other collectives, support their work, and engage with the community through updates, conversations, and events.

Thousands of groups use Open Collective; find a collective to support with our .

What do you want to do?

Know what you’re looking for? Jump to a section to get started:

Looking for something specific?

You can find a particular page in the docs by browsing the left-hand sidebar. You can search for words, phrases, or ask questions by typing in the search bar in the top-right corner.

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Find out how to set up your public profile, add your team, and manage your budget.

Discover collectives around the world, help them grow, and spread the word

Submit and track expenses on the platform.

Learn more about Fiscal Hosting, and how to manage admin and finances.

Find out more about Open Collective, our mission, our team and our investors.

Start a project
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Build a Collective
Give to a Collective
Get Your Expenses Paid
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