Unhosting a Collective

You can unhost a Collective via the Open Collective platform, but it must first have a balance of zero

There may be some occasions in which you will need to "unhost" a Collective.

For example:

• The Collective wants to move to a new Fiscal Host

• The Collective wants to become an Independent Collective, which means they will have their own bank account and do their own admin

If a Collective is "unhosted":

• The Fiscal Host will no longer be able to manage the Collective's money

• All active recurring PayPal contributions and Virtual Cards will be canceled

You will only be able to do this if the Collective has reduced its balance to zero. A guide on how a Collective can empty their balance can be found on the Zero Collective Balance page.

A Collective admin can "zero" the balance by taking the money out via expenses. Other options include giving money to other Collectives and gifting the remaining balance to its Fiscal Host.

If the Collective is changing hosts, it can also transfer the money to the new Fiscal Host as a one-time donation, which means it will be available when they complete their move.

To unhost a Collective that is moving to a new host, follow these steps:

1. Tell the Collective to make a donation to the new host, which amounts to the Collective's total current balance

2. When you approve the expense, make sure you have selected "The payee is covering the fees". This ensures that the balance can be totally emptied, without needing to adjust for any payment processor fees

3. The Collective admin then applies to the new Fiscal Host

4. Once they are added, the new host will use the "Add Funds" option to move the "donated" amount to the new bank account