501c4Announcement

Subject
OSGeo Receives 501(c)(4) Tax Exempt Status

News Date
13 September 2013

Details
OSGeo is pleased to announce that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has accepted our application(pdf) for non-profit status under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code. Our 501(c)(4) status declares that we are a Social Welfare Organization. This determination affirms OSGeo's role in serving the public through our mission, focused around Open Source Geospatial software.

This determination helps ensure that the organization will not have to pay US federal taxes on money accumulated toward the fulfilment of our mission. Unfortunately, unlike a 501(c)(3) (Charitable) status, this does not allow financial contributors to OSGeo to treat the contributions as a charitable contribution which can have a tax benefit for US tax payers. There should still be no problem with commercial organizations treating contributions to OSGeo as a business expense.

OSGeo owes a special debt to past Executive Director Tyler Mitchell, and current Treasurer Daniel Morissette who have carried this process to a successful conclusion after several years of work. Current OSGeo President, Jeff McKenna, says "Both Daniel and Tyler should be thanked by the entire community for their dedication to such a challenging task. Our future foundation events, and OSGeo in general, will benefit from their hard work for years to come."

About the Open Source Geospatial Foundation

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation, or OSGeo, is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2006 whose mission is to support and promote the collaborative development of open geospatial technologies and data. The Foundation provides financial, organizational and legal support to the broader open source geospatial community. It also serves as an independent legal entity to which community members can contribute code, funding and other resources, secure in the knowledge that their contributions will be maintained for public benefit.