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The Apache Software Foundation Sponsorship Program

The Apache Software Foundation provides support for the Apache community of open-source software projects. Apache projects use a collaborative, consensus-based development process, an open and pragmatic software license, and a desire to create high quality software that leads the way in its field. We consider ourselves not simply a group of projects sharing a server, but rather a community of developers and users.

By sponsoring the ASF you show your support for our mission and help sustain a vibrant organization. Sponsorship also shows your support for open source and gives you the opportunity to "give back" to the community. Finally, since the ASF is a non-profit organization, sponsorship provides attractive tax benefits for organizations based in the U.S.

Foundation Sponsorship

Foundation Sponsorship is the way that corporations can contribute substantially to the ongoing support of the Foundation. In return, the ASF will officially acknowledge your donation via various methods appropriate to your sponsorship level. We will display your logo and link on the Sponsors page and provide an official sponsor image to place on your website.

There are four sponsorship levels, defined by donation amount and in-return benefits of sponsorship. No more than 25% of value can be based on in-kind services. To get started, connect with fundraising@apache.org.


Platinum




  • Donation level: US$125k/year
  • Your logo (max size: 400x179) on our ASF Thanks page with rel="sponsored" link
    • Logo location: top section of page
    • Logo in rotating, random placement
    • Logo in a two column row
  • Use of the ASF Platinum Sponsorship logo for your site
  • Joint press release or blog post with the ASF
  • Listed in ASF Annual Reports
  • Sponsor co-authored Case Study
  • “Success At Apache” Guest Post
  • Dedicated Sponsorship Ambassador

Gold




  • Donation level: US$50k/year
  • Your logo (max size: 223x100) on our ASF Thanks page with rel="sponsored" link
    • Logo location: upper-middle section of page
    • Logo in alphabetical placement
    • Logo in three column row
  • Use of the ASF Gold Sponsorship logo for your site
  • Personal quote for your press release
  • Listed in ASF Annual Reports
  • Sponsor co-authored Case Study
  • Dedicated Sponsorship Ambassador

Silver




  • Donation level: US$25k/year
  • Your logo (max size: 150x67) on our ASF Thanks page with rel="sponsored" link
    • Logo location: lower-middle section of page
    • Logo in alphabetical placement
    • Logo in four column row
  • Use of the ASF Silver Sponsorship logo for your site
  • Listed in ASF Annual Reports
  • Dedicated ASF Ambassador

Bronze




  • Donation level: US$6k/year
  • Text mention on our ASF Thanks page rel="sponsored" link
    • Text mention location: lower section of page
    • Alphabetical placement
    • Shared row
  • Use of the ASF Bronze Sponsorship logo for your site
  • Listed in ASF Annual Reports

Targeted Sponsorship

Targeted Sponsorship provides the ASF with non-cash contributions aimed at specific activities, projects, or programs, such as donating cloud services, providing legal services, underwriting our flagship event attendees’ expenses, funding project hackathons, and contributing documentation resources.

Targeted Sponsorships benefit the ASF in addition to funding our general operations. Targeted Sponsors receive the same benefits as Foundation Sponsors based on the equivalent value of the non-cash contribution. We invite you to view our guidelines to see if Targeted Sponsorship is right for you.

Corporate Giving Programs

The impact of your gift to the ASF as part of an annual corporate giving program bolsters the ASF’s mission. Corporate giving programs at Bloomberg, IBM, Microsoft, PayPal, Vanguard, and many others offer tax benefits, and provide their employees the ability to boost their support of a diverse set of nonprofit projects.

The ASF is an official charity in the Benevity Causes Portal, as part of numerous corporate giving initiatives such as The American Online Giving Foundation, the Microsoft Tech Talent for Good volunteer program and Charles Schwab Charitable. For more information, visit https://www.benevity.com/.

FAQ

What is the ASF’s tax identification number?

The ASF's tax identification number is 47-0825376.

Can I just make a one-time donation?

The ASF appreciates donations of any size and, as we are a US registered 501(c)(3) corporation, your donation may be tax deductible. If you are interested in donating to the ASF at a different level than sponsorship, see our donation page.

Where can I mail a check?

Mail your check or money order payable to:

The Apache Software Foundation
1000 N West Street, Suite 1200
Wilmington, DE 19801

To receive a tax receipt, include your email address and the name for whom the donation should be credited (your own or the third party if it is a on behalf of someone else).

Where will my sponsorship funds go?

The ASF provides the infrastructure for hundreds of projects - the mailing lists, code repositories, bug tracking systems, etc. A few paid contractors, plus large amounts of volunteer effort, maintain these resources. This, in addition to the large costs of bandwidth and server hardware, constitutes the bulk of the expense of running the Foundation.

We also have the normal business operating expenses which go with any organization. These include:

Your sponsorship helps the ASF meet these expenses and expand our capability to maintain our leadership in the developer and Open Source communities. Funding lets us perform pro-active hardware procurement, enhance our community outreach, sponsor developer hackathons and user groups, and perform non-code related improvements to projects such as better documentation and more comprehensive websites

Who can sponsor the ASF?

From time to time there is confusion about who can sponsor the Apache Software Foundation. Additionally, there are often inquiries from potential sponsors who are not committed to the mission of the ASF or open source software.

Because The Apache Software Foundation Sponsorship Program needs to apply its policies quickly, fairly and equally, without the need for exceptions or board votes, we have tried to maintain this document at the most basic level. However, the Foundation reserves the right to decline any sponsor without providing a reason and at our sole discretion.

In short, sponsors must be:

Landing pages for sponsor links cannot be advertisements or redirectors and must be “PG Rated” and safe for work environments. All links should go to a home page or a page with relevant, editorial content about open source software. Any sites with content unsuitable for minors must use a landing page that is completely kid-safe, with appropriate warnings, and that meets US legal requirements such as the FTC’s COPPA requirements.

*Nexus, also called “sufficient physical presence”, is a legal term that refers to the requirement for companies doing business in a state to collect and pay tax on sales in that state. For example, if you sell goods or services in Los Angeles, you must file and pay California state taxes. Source: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/taxes/what-is-nexus-and-how-does-it-affect-your-small-business.

Is the Apache Software Foundation a non-profit organization?

The Apache Software Foundation is a private operating foundation that is registered as a non-profit, charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. This means that, for organizations within the U.S., donations to the ASF should be tax-deductible. We are not accountants, so this cannot be trusted as financial advice of any kind, but we hope this description will be useful to those who advise you in these matters. You may view our ruling letter from the IRS acknowledging our 501(c)3 status.

You may review the latest financial filings and non-profit exemption application of The Apache Software Foundation in our public records section. You may find other helpful information through GuideStar (requires free registration for full access).

You can find more information about non-profits and related issues at the Internet Nonprofit Center.

Who can I talk to about supporting the ASF?

If you would like more information about supporting the ASF, please contact fundraising@apache.org. We handle sponsorship donations differently from standard non-directed donations, so if you want your donations to be part of the Sponsorship program (and thus obtain the benefits of the program), coordinate the donation with the Fundraising team. We keep all information in strictest confidence.

How do sponsorship renewals happen?

Your sponsorship runs for one year after the date of receipt of payment. During this period, we display your logo on our Sponsors page.

Two months before the end of your sponsorship, we will contact you (via the same mechanism we used to arrange the initial sponsorship) requesting renewal. If renewal does not take place by the renewal date of the sponsorship, the ASF may remove your logo from the thanks page.

Thanks for your support!