Finance
Revenue model
flowchart LR
Grants --> BNIF[BNI Foundation]
OpenCollective[Open Collective\ndonations] --> BNIF
BNILLC_Sponsorship[BNI LLC sponsorship\n~15–20% of revenue] --> BNIF
BNIF -- "Open-source software" --> BNILLC[BNI LLC]
BNILLC -- "Enterprise contracts\nManaged hosting\nConsulting" --> Clients
BNI Foundation revenue streams
| Source |
Type |
Notes |
| BNI LLC sponsorship |
Recurring |
Contractual annual donation, ~15–20% of BNI LLC revenue |
| Open Collective |
Donations |
Individuals and corporate supporters |
| Restricted grants |
Project grants |
e.g. "MPowerUP Phase 2 deployment" |
| Unrestricted grants |
General operating |
Mozilla, Ford Foundation, Knight — see Grant Strategy |
BNI LLC revenue streams
| Source |
Description |
| Enterprise contracts |
Support SLAs, custom deployments of BNI Foundation open source |
| Managed hosting |
Run BNI software for orgs that can't self-host |
| Consulting |
Architecture, implementation, training |
| White-label apps |
Custom-branded versions of MPowerUP, RlivN, and other BNI platforms |
| Smart device products |
IoT and smart home devices built on BNI Foundation hardware frameworks |
| Hardware partnerships |
Revenue-sharing and integration agreements with device manufacturers |
While BNI's 501(c)(3) application is in process, Open Collective serves as fiscal host:
- BNI can receive tax-deductible donations immediately
- Transparent public ledger for all income and expenses
- ~3% platform fee on transactions
- Build a public financial track record for the IRS application
Anthropic path
| Phase |
Claude access |
Cost |
| Now |
Individual accounts (Kevin + Corey) |
~$100–200 / person / mo |
| 501(c)(3) letter received |
Apply to Anthropic non-profit program |
~40–60% discount expected |
| Scale (5+ devs) |
Claude for Teams or Enterprise at non-profit rate |
TBD |