OUR COMMUNITY IS WHAT KEEPS US ALIVE. WE NEED YOUR HELP AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO CONTINUE CHANGING THE FOOD SYSTEM FOR THE BETTERMENT OF US AND OUR PLANET.
Dear OFN Users,
It's summer and you are working hard, so we'll make this quick: it's time to pitch in. If you have already pitched in, we encourage you to keep reading and consider whether you can afford a bit more.
The Open Food Network is developed and supported by the global team, your super-part-time but ultra-dedicated USA team, and you. Because we're part of a community of instances like OFNUSA and users like yourself, everyone benefits from each others' work and learning, like amazing instructional videos and webinars covering use of the platform, marketing tips, and OFN's history and long term direction that are available to you any time.
We appreciate the work of our global community, but there are some things we need to work out by ourselves in the US, like how to offer SNAP/EBT transactions to customers. We're making progress on that, but money to pay developers and a project manager would help speed it up. Our current basic expenses run about $17,000 or so a year (about 1.5% of total sales on the platform) or $1400 a month, thanks to a lot of volunteer time and a shoestring budget that doesn't allow for much of a safety net.
Whether you're running a complex hub or just a single shop, you know other platforms would cost you more than OFN asks, but it's a mistake to think about OFN as "cheap software". Our suggested contributions are kept at a minimum level because you deserve a professional, full-featured platform and responsive support even though you are running on the slimmest of margins like us. If you have not yet contributed this year for the use of the platform, now's the time to do it. If you can exceed the suggested contribution amount, please do. If you haven't included the "any amount" or "pay it forward" products in your shopfront to help us continue to offer the platform to everyone, please do - if you are not sure how, just ask us, and we'll make sure you have the right permissions. Buy an OFN t-shirt or 10 and support cooperatives, unions, and us. Like, follow and share on the socials. It all helps.
OFN is a revolutionary, ethically-based platform and community: let's keep it alive and keep as many local food dollars in your community as we can.
Please reach out if you have any questions, ever. We hope to be around for a long time to answer them, but that's up to you.
Love,
Your OFNUSA Team: Amber, Gina, Kent, Laurie, and a rotating cast of amazing volunteers.