156 lines
6.9 KiB
HTML
156 lines
6.9 KiB
HTML
{% extends "base_projects.html" %}
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{% block subtitle %}Member Project Services - {% endblock %}
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{% block submenuselection %}Services{% endblock %}
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{% block content %}
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<h1>Member Project Services</h1>
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<p>Conservancy assists FLOSS project leaders by handling all matters other
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than software development and documentation, so the developers can focus
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on what they do best: improving the software for the public good. The
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following are the services and options that are available to FLOSS
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projects that have joined Conservancy as a member project.</p>
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<h2>Tax-Deductible, Earmarked Donations</h2>
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<p>Member projects can receive earmarked donations through Conservancy.
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Since Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) charity incorporated in New York,
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donors can often deduct the donation on their USA taxes. Additionally,
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the donors can indicate that their donation should be used to advance a
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specific member project, and those funds are kept in a separate account
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for the member project by Conservancy. This structure prevents
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developers from having to commingle project funds with their own
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personal accounts or having to set up their own project specific
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account.</p>
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<p>Since Conservancy is a tax-exempt organization, there are some
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limits that the law places on what member projects can do with their
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assets, but those limits are the same as if the project was an
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independent non-profit entity. Usually, the project leadership
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instructs Conservancy's leadership on how the project's funds are spent.
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Conservancy spends these funds on the project's behalf on any expenses
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that constitute appropriate activity under Conservancy's 501(c)(3)
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not-for-profit mission. Some typical uses of earmarked donations by
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Conservancy's member projects are:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>funding travel expenses for project developers to attend relevant
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conferences.</li>
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<li>domain name fees, bandwidth costs, and computer equipment
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purchases.</li>
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<li>purchasing media for distribution of project software at conferences
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and events.</li>
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<li>paying key developers on a contractual basis to improve the project's
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software and its documentation.</li>
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<li>sponsoring and organizing conferences for the project.</li>
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<li>trademark registration and enforcement.</li>
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<li>FLOSS license enforcement and compliance activity.</li>
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</ul>
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<h2>Asset Stewardship</h2>
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<p>Conservancy can hold any assets for the project on its behalf. This
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includes copyrights, trademarks, domain names, physical computer
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equipment or anything that should be officially held in the name of the
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project. Member projects are not required that Conservancy hold all
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assets of a project. (For example, member projects are
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not <em>required</em> to assign copyrights to Conservancy.)
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However, Conservancy can accommodate the needs of projects that want
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their assets under the control of a not-for-profit entity and exercised
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only for the public good.</p>
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<h2>Contract Negotiation and Execution</h2>
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<p>Projects sometimes need to negotiate and execute a contract with a
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company. For example, when a project wants to organize and run a
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conference, the venue usually has a complicated contract for rental of
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the space and services. Conservancy assists projects in the negotiation
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of such contracts, and can sign them on behalf of the project.</p>
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<h2>Conference Logistical Support</h2>
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<p>Many Conservancy projects have an annual conference. Conservancy
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provides logistical support for these conferences, particularly in the
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area of financial responsibility and liability. Conservancy provides a
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small amount of logistical support for conference in other ways,
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resource-permitting.</p>
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<h2>Basic Legal Advice and Services</h2>
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<p>Since projects, upon joining, become organizationally part of
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Conservancy, Conservancy can provide basic legal services to its member
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projects through Conservancy's own General Counsel, outside counsel, and
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pro-bono attorneys. For example, Conservancy assists its projects in
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handling issues related to trademark registration, trademark policy
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development and licensing, trademark enforcement, copyright licensing
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and enforcement, and non-profit governance questions and issues.</p>
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<h2>FLOSS Copyright License Enforcement</h2>
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<p>Complying with FLOSS licenses is easy, as they permit and encourage
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both non-commercial and commercial distribution and improvements.
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Nevertheless, violations of FLOSS licenses (in particular of
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the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html">GPL</a>
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and <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html">LGPL</a>) are all
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too common. At request of the project's leaders, Conservancy can carry
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out license enforcement activity on behalf of the project's copyright
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holders.</p>
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<h2>Fundraising Assistance</h2>
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<p>Conservancy provides various tools and advice to member projects on
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methods of raising funds for their projects' earmarked accounts.</p>
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<h2>Avoid Non-Profit Administrivia</h2>
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<p>Member projects can continue to operate in the same way they did before
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joining Conservancy without having to select a board of directors or
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any other layer of corporate management, without having to maintain
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corporate records and without having to do any of the other things
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required of incorporated entities. Conservancy handles all of that
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burden on behalf of its projects.</p>
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<h2>Leadership Mentoring, Advice and Guidance</h2>
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<p>Many of Conservancy's <a href="/about/board">directors</a> are
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experienced FLOSS project leaders. They offer themselves as a resource
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to member project leaders who need assistance or face challenges in
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their work leading their projects.</p>
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<h2>Some Personal Liability Protection</h2>
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<p>When a project joins Conservancy, it formally becomes part of the
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Conservancy. (The project is thus somewhat analogous to a division of a
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company or a department in a large agency.) As such, project leaders
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benefit from some amount of protection from personal liability for their
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work on the project.</p>
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<h2>Officiating Community Elections and Ballot Initiatives</h2>
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<p>Conservancy will organize and run community leadership committee elections
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and/or ballot initiatives for its member project communities,
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using <a href="https://gitorious.org/conservancy/voting/">online voting
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software</a>.</p>
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<hr/>
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<p>Those familiar with non-profit terminology will recognize most of these
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services
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as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiscal_sponsorship">fiscal
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sponsorship services</a>. This term is not particularly well
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known in the FLOSS community, and many are confused by that term.
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However, if you are familiar with what a fiscal sponsor typically does
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in the non-profit sector, the term does fit many of services that
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Conservancy offers its member projects.</p>
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<p>Project
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leaders that believe their project might benefit from these services can
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<a href="/members/apply/">apply to become a member project</a>.</p>
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{% endblock %}
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