HOW

How Our Community Crowdfunding Works

Funding Digital Public Infrastructure — Together

Broadband Institute Foundation is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit working with communities to build and sustain Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) — tools, networks, and learning systems that help communities thrive, self-organize, and gain digital equity.

To make it easier for communities and supporters to fund this work transparently, we use Open Collective, a platform built for open, accountable community funding.

What is Open Collective?

Open Collective is a public funding and transparency platform that allows people to:

  • Support community-led projects
  • See how funds are raised and spent
  • Track progress through updates and milestones
  • Help fund shared infrastructure for long-term sustainability

Every project has a public page where you can see:

  • its purpose and goals
  • who is involved
  • how much money has been raised
  • how funds are used
  • project updates and progress

This is crowdfunding with accountability — designed for public benefit work.

How Your Contribution Works

When you contribute to a project through Open Collective:

✅ 

97.1% goes directly to the project

Your contribution supports the work described on that project’s page.

✅ 

2.9% supports shared nonprofit infrastructure

A small portion of every contribution (2.9%) supports Broadband Institute Foundation’s infrastructure and administrative capacity — the shared backbone that makes these projects possible and sustainable.

We call this Commons Stewardship.

Why 2.9% Matters (and What It Supports)

Digital public infrastructure projects need a reliable nonprofit foundation to remain durable, legally compliant, and publicly accountable. The 2.9% Commons Stewardship contribution helps support:

  • Financial administration & accounting
  • Compliance & nonprofit reporting
  • Receipts and tax documentation
  • Fund management and disbursement
  • Project support & guidance
  • Platform and operational infrastructure
  • Community governance & transparency systems

In short: this small contribution keeps the nonprofit foundation strong enough to support many projects — not just one.

This is not extraction. It’s how we sustain the commons.

What Projects Can Be Funded?

Projects on our Open Collective may include:

  • Community-owned Internet networks
  • Local digital resilience and emergency communications
  • Open-source tools that support community connectivity
  • Digital literacy and workforce development
  • Community knowledge commons and local content
  • Accessibility and inclusive technology initiatives
  • Research, education, and policy work that supports digital equity

Each project must publish its goals and provide updates, so supporters can follow progress and see real impact.

Transparency and Accountability

We believe public infrastructure funding should be transparent.

That’s why Open Collective allows anyone to see:

  • how much a project raises
  • where the money goes
  • what expenses have been paid
  • what work is being delivered

Projects are expected to:

  • share progress updates
  • publish budgets and goals
  • show real-world outcomes

This creates a healthy, trust-based funding ecosystem.

Discovering Projects: Leaderboards & Categories

To make it easy for supporters to find meaningful work, we organize projects by category — and highlight momentum through community leaderboards.

You’ll be able to browse projects by themes like:

  • community networks
  • education and training
  • open tools
  • accessibility
  • civic data
  • emergency resilience

Leaderboards may show:

  • top projects overall
  • leading projects by category
  • fastest-growing projects
  • projects with the most community supporters

This helps the community signal what matters most — and helps new projects get discovered.

Why This Model Works

Traditional funding often rewards centralized systems and short-term outcomes.

Our approach supports something different:

  • community ownership
  • shared governance
  • open collaboration
  • durable, locally rooted infrastructure
  • regenerative local economic development

By supporting projects and the nonprofit infrastructure behind them, contributors help communities create long-term digital equity — and build infrastructure that stays accountable to the people it serves.

Ready to Support Digital Public Infrastructure?

You can contribute in three ways:

1) Fund a project directly

Choose a project you care about and support it.

2) Follow a project

Stay connected and help share updates.

3) Become a recurring supporter

Monthly giving helps projects stay stable and sustainable.

Every contribution strengthens community-led digital infrastructure — and helps us build a future where connectivity is owned and governed locally.

Questions?

If you want help choosing a project, funding a category, or proposing a new initiative, we’d love to hear from you.

Broadband Institute Foundation

A 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit supporting community-owned digital equity.