Episode MMXXI - A New Hope

In 2020, Open Collective Foundation grew 20x in money raised for initiatives ($4.5m), 4x in initiatives served (nearly 200), and 10x in financial disbursements.

On one level, this shows the extent of critical community needs not being met by traditional structures. On another level, it shows the power of alternative funding, and the incredible capacity of people to make a difference together.

Every initiative we host represents passionate humans working on their piece of the big puzzle of survival, justice, and building a thriving future. Our team has been inspired and humbled by all of them, every day.

In the coming year, we hope for a reprieve in intensity of the intersecting crises that defined 2020—but regardless of what comes, we believe in the power of people facing it collectively.

Our Mission and Values

We've refreshed and clarified our core purpose and principles, to guide us as the Foundation continues to grow.

A simple, open, lightweight path for charitable initiatives to operate through a 501(c)(3) entity, we provide fiscal sponsorship as a service. Through a tech-enabled open finance infrastructure, ideas and communities come to life. By bridging the gap between donors and initiatives, we unlock their potential, enable focus on the missions, and accelerate their impact.

Read more →

Collective Impact Stories

We've interviewed just a fraction if our amazing initiatives for the blog. If you'd like to share your story too, let us know!

Improvements

We're always looking for new ways to power up our community!

Features:

  • Funds: a new profile type designed for funders distributing money (alongside Collectives, which are designed for raising money).
  • Projects: A way to manage contributions and expenses for a specific purpose within a Collective.
  • Invite expense: Fill out the info and invite your vendor or contributor to confirm, instead of making them submit an expense from scratch.
  • Guest contributions: Now people can donate without needing to create an account.

Services:

In the works:

  • Grants: a different type of expense (alongside invoices and reimbursements) for creating impact through direct financial assistance. Currently in beta testing.
  • Registration of trademarks for hosted initiatives—we're looking into this so let us know if you're interested.

2020 Leaderboard

Top Funded

  1. OpenMined $705,159
  2. Internet Freedom $550,000
  3. Digital Infrastructure $477,500
  4. Meals of Gratitude $424,142
  5. Climate Crisis $302,244
  6. CVKey Project $296,150
  7. OpenCovidScreen $260,971
  8. Bushwick Ayuda Mutua $203,061
  9. Internet Freedom Tech $175,000
  10. Justice Reskill $114,664

Most Contributors

  1. Bushwick Ayuda Mutua 1,439
  2. Meals of Gratitude 893
  3. West Brooklyn Waterfront 463
  4. Club A Kitchen 388
  5. North Brooklyn Mutual Aid 342
  6. East Bronx Dems 194
  7. Ward 5 Mutual Aid 191
  8. DC Ward 3 Mutual Aid 175
  9. We Got This Seattle 169
  10. Athens Mutual Aid 161

Top Funders

  1. Ford Foundation $627,500
  2. Schwab Charitable $385,084
  3. BitMEX $300,000
  4. Luminate Group $275,000
  5. FB Open Source $268,000
  6. Facebook Inc $175,000
  7. Eutopia Foundation $125,000
  8. Vanguard Charitable $105,500
  9. Open Society $100,000
  10. Morgan Stanley Gift $100,000

Here's to hope in the new year. Let's do this, together.