Open Collective

Overview

Open Collective is a platform designed to enable transparent financial management for communities, open-source projects, and non-profit organizations. Founded in 2015, the platform addresses the challenge of funding and managing finances for groups that may lack legal entity status or the administrative capacity to handle financial operations independently. It provides a structure for collectives to raise funds, manage budgets, and process expenses with full financial transparency visible to all contributors and the public.

The core offering includes the Open Collective Platform, which provides tools for creating a collective, accepting financial contributions, and managing expenses. A key component is its fiscal hosting service, where a legal entity, known as a 'fiscal host,' acts as the legal and financial umbrella for collectives. This allows projects and communities to receive donations and grants without needing to establish their own non-profit status or corporate entity. Fiscal hosts handle legal compliance, banking, and accounting, simplifying financial administration for the collectives they sponsor. This model is particularly beneficial for open-source software projects and grassroots initiatives that often rely on global contributions but face barriers in formalizing their financial structures.

The platform is suitable for various use cases, including funding open-source software development, organizing local community events, supporting activist groups, and managing funds for educational initiatives. It supports multiple contribution methods, including one-time and recurring donations, and allows collectives to issue invoices and manage budgets. Expense management features enable members to submit expenses for reimbursement, which are then approved and paid by the fiscal host, with all transactions publicly recorded on the collective's page. This emphasis on transparency aims to build trust within communities and among contributors.

For developers and technical buyers, Open Collective offers a GraphQL API. This API allows for programmatic interaction with collective data, including contributions, expenses, and collective profiles. Authentication is managed through personal access tokens, providing a secure method for applications to integrate with the platform. The API supports flexible data querying, enabling developers to build custom dashboards, integrate with other tools, or automate financial reporting processes. This extensibility makes Open Collective a viable option for organizations seeking to integrate community funding and financial transparency into their existing technical stacks. The platform's commitment to open standards and developer access aligns with the broader movement towards open finance and community-driven development.

Key features

• Collective Creation & Management: Tools to set up and administer a collective page, including branding, mission statements, and team member management.
• Fiscal Hosting: Provides a legal and financial umbrella for collectives, allowing them to receive funds without establishing their own legal entity (Open Collective documentation).
• Transparent Financials: All income and expenses for a collective are publicly visible, fostering trust and accountability.
• Contribution Management: Enables acceptance of one-time and recurring financial contributions from individuals and organizations, with support for various payment methods.
• Expense Reimbursement: Members can submit expenses for approval and reimbursement directly through the platform, streamlining financial operations.
• Budgeting Tools: Functionality to set and track budgets for different activities within a collective.
• GraphQL API: A programmatic interface for interacting with collective data, supporting data retrieval and integration with external applications (Open Collective API reference).
• GDPR Compliance: Adherence to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) standards for data privacy and protection.

Pricing

Open Collective's pricing model primarily involves platform fees applied to financial contributions. There is no charge to create or manage a collective itself. Additional payment processor fees apply to all transactions.

For detailed and current pricing information, refer to the Open Collective pricing page.

Common integrations

• Payment Gateways: Integrates with payment processors like Stripe and PayPal for accepting contributions.
• GitHub: Often used by open-source projects to align funding with development efforts, though a direct API integration is not explicitly documented by Open Collective for GitHub Sponsors. Developers can use the GraphQL API to connect collective data with GitHub project metrics.
• CRM Systems: The GraphQL API can be utilized to integrate collective contributor data with CRM platforms for donor management and communication.
• Accounting Software: Data can be exported or pulled via the API for integration with external accounting software for detailed financial audit and reporting.
• Custom Dashboards & Reporting: Developers frequently use the Open Collective GraphQL API to build custom dashboards and generate reports tailored to specific collective needs.

Alternatives

• Patreon: A membership platform that enables creators to run a subscription content service, offering exclusive content or benefits to paying patrons.
• GitHub Sponsors: Allows individuals and companies to financially support developers and open-source projects directly on GitHub.
• Liberapay: A non-profit open-source platform for recurring donations, focusing on sustainable funding for creators and projects.

Getting started

To get started with the Open Collective GraphQL API, you'll need to obtain a Personal Access Token. This token will be used to authenticate your requests. The following example demonstrates how to fetch basic information about a collective using a GraphQL query in JavaScript with the fetch API.

First, ensure you have a Personal Access Token. You can generate one from your Open Collective profile settings.

const COLLECTIVE_SLUG = 'your-collective-slug'; // Replace with your collective's slug
const PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN = 'YOUR_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN'; // Replace with your actual token

const query = `
  query CollectiveQuery($slug: String!) {
    collective(slug: $slug) {
      id
      name
      slug
      description
      stats {
        balance { value } 
        totalDonations { value }
        totalExpenses { value }
      }
    }
  }
`;

fetch('https://api.opencollective.com/graphql/v2', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN}`,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    query: query,
    variables: { slug: COLLECTIVE_SLUG },
  }),
})
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => {
  if (data.errors) {
    console.error('GraphQL Errors:', data.errors);
  } else {
    console.log('Collective Data:', data.data.collective);
  }
})
.catch(error => {
  console.error('Fetch Error:', error);
});

This code snippet constructs a GraphQL query to retrieve the collective's ID, name, slug, description, and key financial statistics (balance, total donations, total expenses). It then sends a POST request to the Open Collective GraphQL endpoint, including the query, variables, and your Personal Access Token for authorization. The response will contain the requested collective data, or an array of errors if the query failed. For more complex queries and mutations, refer to the Open Collective API documentation.