Should you start a new non-profit? Foundations 101 Should you start a new non-profit? Moderator: Dave Neary dneary@redhat.com

Panel discussion Dave Neary COSM, Yorba, GNOME Foundation Ian Skerrett Eclipse Foundation Bradley Kuhn Software Freedom Conservancy Cedric Thomas OW2 Key points of dispute: - Corporate vs community influence - Apache Foundation/FSF - Giving up control? - Eclipse Foundation – too much paperwork? - Quality of service – how can you compare umbrella organizations? - Is there ever a good reason to start a new foundation?

Answer: It depends.

Reasons for starting 1. Financial infrastructure Opening a bank account Accepting donations (potentially tax-deductible)

Reasons for starting 2. Insulate members from liability Enter into contracts (eg. conference venues, sponsors) Hire staff

Reasons for starting 3. Governance and pooling resources Legal safe haven for copyrights and trademark Formalize rules for governance of project Protect members from individual legal action Provide level playing field for members, structure to pool resources

Costs 1. Money Lawyer for drafting of by-laws and annual registration of company paperwork Accountant to deal with taxes, payroll

Costs 2. Time Registering an organization, drafting by-laws, official paperwork Elections, board meetings, ... 501(c)* approval times measured in years

Costs 3. Risk & responsibility President and board are accountable for the organization fiscally & legally Fiduciary responsibility, potentially outside your jurisdiction

Alternatives 1. Umbrella organizations (in no particular order) Eclipse Foundation Software Freedom Conservancy Software in the Public Interest OuterCurve Foundation OW2 Linux Foundation

Alternatives 1. Umbrella organizations (in no particular order) Apache Foundation GNOME Foundation KDE eV ...

Alternatives 1. Umbrella organizations (in no particular order) Provide fiscal entity and financial services Key differences: Cost structure Membership requirements (license, infrastructure, ...) Philosophy and by-laws Ecosystem

Alternatives 2. Sugar Daddy “Benevolent” corporate sponsor Benefits: Salary, availability of legal and financial services Risks: Changing winds

Alternatives 3. Management services Offload financial and administrative services to organization Provide staff & payroll services, etc. Costs money See panel “How should we staff & administer it?”

Starting a foundation Considerations out of scope for this discussion: Jurisdiction By-laws and corporate governance IRS 501(c) status See panel “How do we form a new Foundation?” - up next

Panel discussion Dave Neary COSM, Yorba, GNOME Foundation Ian Skerrett Eclipse Foundation Bradley Kuhn Software Freedom Conservancy Cedric Thomas OW2 Key points of dispute: - Corporate vs community influence - Apache Foundation/FSF - Giving up control? - Eclipse Foundation – too much paperwork? - Quality of service – how can you compare umbrella organizations? - Is there ever a good reason to start a new foundation?