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Thanks, Kevin, for your feedback. <br>
<br>
With utmost respect for your thoughts, I feel I should address your
perception of "... undue administrative burden .." perception. In my
experience, the fund-raising "front-end" is the easiest part (per
these links, below)<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/nfp">https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/nfp</a> and<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.paypal.com/us/non-profit/fundraising/fundraising-online">https://www.paypal.com/us/non-profit/fundraising/fundraising-online</a>
and<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/FAQ4103">https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/FAQ4103</a><br>
<br>
Once signed up with and accepted by PayPal as a non-profit org, even
for a non-tech person, it takes just a few minutes using its
button-factory to generate the "Contribute" or "Donate" button's
underlying link-html. Then that link-html simply needs to get
copied/pasted into xfce's existing page(s). Once published, that
button tells PayPal everything they need to know to put up their
donation page, and process a transaction ...<br>
<br>
Simple thus far, but here comes the sticky part: xfce, through its
delegate (aka "admin"), must signup and be accepted by PayPal. In
fact ANY reputable paywall insists on doing so. Because PayPal acts
as a non-stop, pass-through service, the "back-end" (read: banking
& domicile) must be established beforehand as it will be
verified by PayPal before activating an account.<br>
<br>
That's where xfce's organizational details come into play: who
manages deposits; who draws funds; who authorizes disbursements, and
to whom, and for what purposes .... The devil is in the details. Is
xfce, as on org, ready to step up to that? That's my larger
question, and I strongly suggest that xfce manage its own finances.
As I have no way of knowing, Is xfce doing so now, or is it relying
on proxy arrangements only (ie bountysource?<br>
<br>
To summarize my boring minutia: the setup is easier than you think,
but the operation can get tricky if not properly organized
beforehand & managed later.<br>
<br>
Best regards, BW<br>
<br>
PS: I personally use PayPal a lot (eBay & such) and have no
stake in it.<br>
PPS: I had a very bad experience with Patrean and would not
recommend it.<br>
<br>
==================<br>
<br>
On 4/20/21 5:56 PM, Kevin Bowen wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:03fdf29d-30a6-7aa8-85f9-58bad33327ba@xfce.org">
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<p>Thanks for the input Bruno. <br>
</p>
<p>I think part of what you wrote neatly summarizes my
concerns/criteria in finding a suitable alternative to
bountysource. I definitely do not wish to place an undue
administrative burden on the devs by using an org that requires
providing tax papers(e.g. 1099s) upfront. Especially since many
of these folks are located outside of the U.S. So, they have
already been disqualified, in my opinion. The GitHub Sponsors
program would be one of those, for example (among other reasons
for not wanting to use them ;-)). Many of the programs that I
have been looking use PayPal, or Stripe as a backend for fiscal
disbursement. That is pretty common denominator with many of the
candidates.<br>
</p>
<p>I think Andre, in a separate mail, has addressed some of your
other points.</p>
<p>And just for the sake of clarity/transparency. Here is the
list, in no particular order of importance, of the organizations
that I have been researching besides opencollective.com:</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Patreon Developer <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.patreon.com/developers"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.patreon.com/developers</a><br>
GoFundMe<br>
liberapay <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://liberapay.com/" moz-do-not-send="true">https://liberapay.com/</a><br>
paypal<br>
coil <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://coil.com/discover" moz-do-not-send="true">https://coil.com/discover</a><br>
indieagogo<br>
snowdrift.coop<br>
Software in the Public Interest (SPI) <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.spi-inc.org/"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.spi-inc.org/</a><br>
Software Freedom Conservancy <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://sfconservancy.org/projects/apply/"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://sfconservancy.org/projects/apply/</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.oss.fund/"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.oss.fund/</a><br>
</p>
<p>Thanks again,</p>
<p>Kevin<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 4/20/21 9:58 AM, Bruno Schmidt
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:de864f21-fdb8-e5e4-21de-38352fd02d3f@centurylink.net">
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charset=UTF-8">
<font size="+1">Greetings to y'all!<br>
<br>
Fwiw: if your objective is to withdraw from bountysource (@ <a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.bountysource.com/teams/xfce"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.bountysource.com/teams/xfce</a>
) then the link to that service should be removed from xfce's
page ( @ <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.xfce.org/getinvolved"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.xfce.org/getinvolved</a>
) sooner than later. As you can see, donations are still
flowing in, thus donors will have to be contacted to redirect
their payment directives -- not an easy task, for sure...<br>
<br>
I have looked at kde.org, ubuntu-mate, mate-desktop, linux
mint, opencollective, patreon, and other paywalls, and would
humbly suggest to develop a PayPal-based solution. For the
simple reason that it their API works well and can be used
internationally. However, there's a rub: if the person/entity
that manages (read: admin & bank accounts) the PayPal
account is a US-"taxpayer" (has an SSN or applied for/uses an
EIN), then the flow of donations becomes subject to US
tax-laws per se, and possibly tax liabilities, and perhaps
additional information-report filing requirements (ie f1099)
on US recipients of donated funds.<br>
<br>
On the up-side, Incorporating a non-profit corp / trust
/foundation here in one of the US states is relatively simple
and cheap, but does require a "registered agent" (for legal
process) in the state of incorporation, ie Nevada or
Washington. <br>
<br>
Just some constructive thoughts. Cheers, BW<br>
<br>
-</font><br>
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