Individual Donations:
Underwriting Memberships are targeted towards those who have a critical interest in the advancement of one or more products in the OSDC portfolio. An Underwriting Member contributes one annual membership fee and then subscribes to each of the products they wish to support. Subscriptions are typically provided at a 50%-90% discount from the non-member rates and are intended merely to provide a measure of scale. In other words, the gross value of the software to a consumer who uses 100,000 units is generally greater than the value to a consumer who can only utilize 100 units. OSDC is not about selling software; it is about the consumer deriving value from the use of the software created through the combination of their funds and the labor of the product team.
Underwriting Members' input and needs are given the highest priority in the development process. Their subscribed product support needs are also given the highest support priority. Their annual membership and subscriptions are payable in twelve monthly installments due at the beginning of each month of membership.
The subscription costs depend on the product and are payable in US dollars. The membership is payable as US$80,000 or three Qualified Full Time Equivalent employees. Payment in financial resources is far preferable to payment in human resources; it is cleaner, more flexible and less problematic. However, the human resource option is made available to assist those organizations where skilled labor is more readily available than US dollars. Again, the emphasis is not in generating dollars; it is in generating value for the consumer and product teams. For more details on payment in human resources, see the QFTE Program document.
The same emphasis on value rather than software revenue implies that Underwriting Members are welcome to contribute more than the minimum membership requirements to a project. This does not make sense when buying software is the goal. However, that is not the goal. Deriving value is the goal. If accelerating or enhancing a project by means of increased financial or human resources will generate more value for the member using the software, then it makes sense to contribute over and above the minimum membership requirement. We know we have stated this several times but it is such a different approach to value that it bears repeating.