Financial Management
This page outlines the financial management structure of Free Your Tech Association, describing how we handle funds, process transactions, and maintain financial transparency.
Financial Infrastructure
Free Your Tech Association utilizes a combination of modern financial tools to manage its operations efficiently and transparently:
Open Collective
Open Collective serves as our primary financial platform, handling:
- Recurring membership fees
- One-time donations
- Expense tracking and reimbursements
- Transparent financial reporting
All financial transactions are publicly visible on our Open Collective page, allowing members and the public to see how funds are being used.
Payment Processing
We use Stripe integration with Open Collective to securely process card payments for:
- Membership subscriptions
- Individual donations
- Other contributions
This integration ensures secure, reliable payment processing while maintaining the transparency of our Open Collective platform.
Banking
Wise serves as our business bank account, providing:
- Multi-currency capabilities
- Low-cost international transfers
- Integration with Open Collective for expense reimbursements
- Efficient payment processing for operational expenses
Setup
After signing up for account with all 3 services and providing all necessary documentation, both Stripe and Wise must be connected to Open Collective via the integration on the collective settings page, which will allow receiving money and reimbursing expenses transparently through the platform.
Financial Workflows
Income Management
Open Collevtive has so called tiers which are the different ways supporters can pay the association. There is a default tier for custom donations which can happen both through bank transfers or card payments. Memberships can be configured by setting up a tier with a recurring charge that members can sign up to with their payment card.
Card payments are processed by Stripe for a fee and subsequently trasferred to our chosen bank account, which is currently on Wise. All the income is tracked transparently on Open Collective. Donations via bank transfer go to our Wise account directly without any fee.
Expense Management
Contributors submit expenses through Open Collective. This requires an invoice or receipt and a way to get reimbursed, such as a bank account. We also track other expenses paid from the corporate account here.
Expenses are reviewed and approved by the Board and reimbursed through the Open Collective-Wise integration by the treasurer.
Financial Reporting
As a transparent organization, we maintain open financial records:
- Real-time Transparency: All transactions are visible on Open Collective
- Annual Reports: Basic financial reports are published annually for members
- Financial Review: The General Assembly reviews financial statements as part of the annual meeting
Financial Principles
Our financial management adheres to the following principles:
- All income and expenses are publicly documented
- Membership fees are set to cover basic operational costs
- Low-overhead financial tools minimize administrative costs