4 ms·

If you don't make profit, you are a non-profit organization, or at least, you should be. Companies of all kinds, including open source companies are for making

by GuB-42 3y ago

If you don't make profit, you are a non-profit organization, or at least, you should be. Companies of all kinds, including open source companies are for making profit. Now you can make money running a nonprofit, by having the organization pay you, but few people do that, even in open source. Usually, you want your company to be worth something. A company often requires personal investment, and if you want to stop, you want to be able to sell the company and get some return on that investment, or at least, not lose everything. But in order to do that, you need profits. On a nonprofit, because obviously, you can't make profit, you can't get anything back from what you created.

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
In the USA, a 501c3 organization that sees revenues of over about $10k needs a fairly extensive board, officer insurance (to protect board members from claims about misappropriating funds) and other legal stuff. I considered this years ago, but decided that it was not worth the effort. > On a nonprofit, because obviously, you can't make profit, you can't get anything back from what you created. I do not agree with your assessment. I do not want the "company" to be "worth" anything. The software is the value, and in keeping with the open source license, the software is a gift to the rest of the world. There merely has to be sufficient revenue associated with it to allow people to work on it at an appropriate level. Profit and "value growth" is not part of the goal.
- GuB-42 3y ago
  Ok, I don't live in the US, I didn't realize a nonprofit involved so much paperwork and bureaucracy. I shouldn't be surprised, it is a way to avoid taxes after all and governments like taxes. But clearly, your goals are in the spirit of a nonprofit, and I think you are part of a minority.
- FireBeyond 3y ago
  You can be a non-profit and not a 501c3. A 501c3 is an exempt purposes non-profit, specifically "charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals."

by GuB-42 3y ago

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago

In the USA, a 501c3 organization that sees revenues of over about $10k needs a fairly extensive board, officer insurance (to protect board members from claims about misappropriating funds) and other legal stuff. I considered this years ago, but decided that it was not worth the effort. > On a nonprofit, because obviously, you can't make profit, you can't get anything back from what you created. I do not agree with your assessment. I do not want the "company" to be "worth" anything. The software is the value, and in keeping with the open source license, the software is a gift to the rest of the world. There merely has to be sufficient revenue associated with it to allow people to work on it at an appropriate level. Profit and "value growth" is not part of the goal.

GuB-42 3y ago
Ok, I don't live in the US, I didn't realize a nonprofit involved so much paperwork and bureaucracy. I shouldn't be surprised, it is a way to avoid taxes after all and governments like taxes. But clearly, your goals are in the spirit of a nonprofit, and I think you are part of a minority.
FireBeyond 3y ago
You can be a non-profit and not a 501c3. A 501c3 is an exempt purposes non-profit, specifically "charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals."