Strategic BSD Fundraising
BSD Fund Logo

Initiatives

Fundraising Tools

F.A.Q.

Sponsor

Sponsors

Previous

Privacy

BSD Fund Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is BSD Fund a registered charity, NGO or 501(c)(3) organization?
A: Not at this time. BSD Fund was program of a US-based 501(c)(3) organization from 2007 to 2012, but is currently simply a trademark of Gainframe LLC, a US-based limited liability company.

Q: Is my sponsorship tax-deductible?
A: Most businesses write off their sponsorships as marketing or engineering expenses. US residents are not eligible for individual tax deductions as they would with a 501(c)(3) organization, but:

  1. Discuss all tax issues with your tax specialist and tax authorities
  2. The majority of past BSD Fund individual donors were not US-residents
  3. In practice, a business can engage in community work at near-zero additional overhead, unlike many charities that struggle to achieve a 70/30 or better ratio of programs to overhead. Businesses that host community events are a perfect example of this.
Q: How can I guarantee that my sponsorship is used in the community's best interests?
A: You are relying on the 15+ year track record of community contributions of Michael Dexter. Broadly, community members are far more observant, informed, and vocal within their communities than the majority of tax enforcement officials.

Q: What is the status of the BSD Fund Visa Credit Card?
A: Linux Fund no longer maintains affinity card programs and those programs included the BSD Fund Visa. All BSD Fund Visa Cards reverted to US Bank Visa Cards.

Q: Have you considered restarting the BSD Fund Visa Card program?
A: In all practicality, it is far more efficient and effective to simply directly fund your favorite efforts. Because some card providers offer custom card designs, I would be happy to provide the card artwork.

Q: Have you considered becoming a formal nonprofit organization?
A: I have made multiple offers to Linux Fund to re-reboot that organization.

Q: Why didn't you pursue a fiscal sponsorship with Conservancy, SPI, or similar?
A: Non-profit/non-governmental organizations are not panaceas. They are very good at protecting assets in the public trust but are rarely as efficient as businesses when it comes to overhead. In the Open Source community, the highly-sensitive demographic is very good at self-policing thanks to the highly-transparent results and accompanying scrutiny. If source code fails to materialize or work, people will ask questions. I also strive to minimize my affiliations because each affiliation carries baggage. Consider "Visit our web site" vs. "Visit our MySpace page".

Q: Can you help me develop a plan to support a project outside of BSD Fund?
A: Absolutely. Please e-mail Michael Dexter to discuss any aspect of Open Source sponsorship.

Copyright © 2008 – 2023 Michael Dexter. All rights reserved.