How Open Collective Works

Open Collective offers a solution for communities and an open way for them to thrive. Find out how we work.

Open Collective makes it easier for people to collaborate on initiatives that make the world better, with fewer set-up and admin tasks.

But how do we do this?

The strength of every great movement lies in how it brings everyone together. So we’ve built a platform that brings together all the people who want to help.

• People who want to raise awareness and ignite change

• People who want to help with finances and admin, and offer groups a safe place to grow

• People and businesses who want to give to great causes, and encourage others to do the same

• …and people who want to help in other ways, offering their time, skills, and feedback

Open Collective gives these amazing people a place to connect and work together.

How It Works

People start a Collective. It could be any group, from a community meetup to an open-source project or even a non-profit.

They want to get set up, raise money, and make decisions about spending together. But they find out it involves a lot of work. They need to obtain the right legal status, open a bank account, and keep on top of crucial administrative work.

So, they sign up with Open Collective to make the process easier.

Open Collective helps Collectives by connecting them with entities that want to support initiatives doing good work. These entities “host” the Collectives, lending them their legal status and holding their money safely in their bank account.

They also handle essential admin such as taxes, accounting, and compliance.

We call these groups Fiscal Hosts.

All the Collective needs to do is sign up for the platform and find and apply to the Fiscal Host that suits them best. If they’re accepted, they can then continue to make an impact in the world. Open Collective can help with that, too. We give you the tools you need to grow your Collective - from raising awareness to setting up events and bringing in donations.

And because we believe in openness, we also offer a way to share your budgets transparently. That means everyone in your Collective and your wider community can see where money is coming from - and how it’s being spent. This is particularly helpful for Collectives who are working with a Fiscal Host. Our transparent budgeting tools allow everyone involved in your organization to see the status of your finances, even when your funds are held in another entity's bank account.

We also make it easier for people to support these Collectives. You can discover Collectives, Fiscal Hosts, Projects, Events, and Funds using our Explore tool. Open Collective is bursting with Collectives spearheading initiatives that matter to you, nearby or worldwide. You can then give money directly through the platform, either as a one-off or a recurring contribution.

If you’re a company looking to give to good causes, you can donate directly to one Collective or split your donation between many. We’ll even prepare a tax-friendly summary of all your donations for the year.

Open Collective is an open-source platform, which means people can help in other ways. We invite people to suggest changes to our designs, documentation, and code that can make it more user-friendly and efficient.