<h2>What are the key criteria our project must meet to join?</h2>

<p>In order to join, projects need to meet certain criteria, including the

requirement that the project be exclusively devoted to the development of

FLOSS and that it be consistent with the Conservancy's tax-exempt purposes

and the financial requirements imposed by the IRS.  Most FLOSS projects

will meet these requirements.</p>

<p>Additionally, the project must be licensed in a way fitting with

  software freedom principles.  Specifically, all software of the project

  should be licensed under a license that is listed both as

  a <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html">Free Software

  license by the Free Software Foundation</a> and as

  an <a href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical">Open Source

  license by the Open Source Initiative</a>.  All software documentation

  for the project should be licensed under a license on the preceding

  lists, or under Creative

  Commons' <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC-By-SA</a>

  or <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/">CC-By</a> or

  <a href="http://creativecommons.org/choose/zero/">CC-0</a>.</p>

<p>While any project licensed under FLOSS licenses can apply, the

  Conservancy seeks in particular projects that are well-established and

  have some track record of substantial contributions from a community of

  volunteer developers.  The Conservancy does gives higher priority to

  projects that have an established userbase and interest, but also tries

  to accept some smaller projects with strong potential.</p>

<h2>Is our project required to accept membership if offered?</h2>

<p>Not at all.  Many projects apply and subsequently decide not to join a

  non-profit, or decide to join a different non-profit entity.  Don't

  worry about “wasting our time” if your project's developers

  aren't completely sure yet if they want to join conservancy.  If

  membership in Conservancy is currently a legitimate consideration for

  your project, we encourage you to apply.  We'd rather that you apply and

  turn down an offer for membership than fail to apply and have to wait

  until the next application round when you're sure.</p>

<h2>What benefits does our project get from joining?</h2>

<p>We maintain a <a href="/members/services">detailed list of services

    that Conservancy provides to member projects</a>.  If you have

    detailed questions about any of the benefits, please

    ask <a href="mailto:apply@sfconservancy.org">&lt;apply@sfconservancy.org&gt;</a>.</p>

<h2>What will the project leaders have to agree to if our project joins?</h2>

<p>Once you're offered membership, we'll send you a draft fiscal

  sponsorship agreement.  These aren't secret documents and many of our

  memer projects have even chosen to put theirs online.  However, we wait

  to send a draft of this document, until the application process is

  complete, as we often tailor and modify the agreements based on

  individual project needs.  This is painstaking work, and it's better to

  complete that work after both Conservancy and the project are quite sure

  that they both want the project will join Conservancy.</p>

<h2>If my project joins the Conservancy, how will it change?</h2>

<p>Substantively, member projects continue to operate in the same way as

they did before joining the Conservancy.  So long as the project remains

devoted to software freedom and operates consistently with the

Conservancy's tax-exempt status, the Conservancy does not intervene in the

project's development other than to provide administrative assistance.

For example, the Conservancy keeps and maintains books and records for the

project and assists with the logistics of receiving donations, but does

not involve itself with technical or artistic decision making.  Projects

are asked, however, to keep the Conservancy up to date on their

activities.</p>

<h2>Once our project joins, who holds its assets (money, copyrights, trademarks, etc.)?</h2>

<p>The Conservancy holds assets on behalf of its member projects and

manages and disburses those assets in accordance with the wishes of the

project's leadership.  Funds received by the Conservancy on behalf of a

project are kept track of separately for each specific project and the

management of those funds is directed by the project.  For example, if a

donor wanted to contribute $100 to Project Foo, they would formally make

the donation to the Conservancy and identify Project Foo as the desired

project to support.  The Conservancy would then deposit the check and

earmark the funds for use by Project Foo.  Project Foo would then tell the

Conservancy how that money should be spent.</p>

<p>Similarly, any copyrights, trademarks, domain name or other assets

transferred to a project can also be held by the Conservancy on behalf of

the project.  A significant service that the Conservancy provides its

members is a vehicle through which copyright ownership in the project can

be unified.  There are several advantages to having a consolidated

copyright structure, including that it makes enforcement activity easier

and more effective.  However, copyright, trademark, and domain name

assignment is not a requirement in order to join the Conservancy, rather,

it is an option for those projects that ask for it.</p>