Community Forge: Here's why we're going freemium

Community Forge hosts community web sites including a complementary currency payment system.

We're making a leap of faith.

During 2 man-years investment in the organisation, we thought it straightest and most sustainable that end users should cover the costs of web hosting, support, and consequent development of the service. The social enterprise approach. We preferred not to invest our time in pursuit of government, industry or philanthropic, or debt-based 'funding', but reasoned the appropriate model was to charge community groups for hosting sites we gave them.

We then conducted intense pricing negotiations with representatives of LETS schemes in Europe, who were willing to pay €0.20 per person per month for the use of our service. At this rate, we would need 25,000 users to cover costs of 2 non-voluntary staff members. That meant signing up more than 250 Communities before the organisation could claim to be sustaining itself. This was unlikely in the short and medium term.

So the question needed to be constantly posed: Are we doing anything valuable, if so, where should the resources come from to continue that work? While some software engineers and providers of financial instruments are for the most part richly rewarded, we face a vocal (French) minority accusing us of attempting to 'centralise', control and profit from the movement. Our financial services were being valued at less than the cost of a phonecall per month?

The other software packages which do complementary currencies didn't give us many ideas for an economic model. CES is member supported, using it's own currency, but this is only possible both because CES inhabits the economy it supports, and because after 7 years that economy is substantial. Community Forge seeks to provide general solutions, and has less ties to specific economies. Cyclos seems to be an offshoot of a larger project, Strohalm, and as such is entirely funded and directed by that organisation - not an arrangement we could set up alone.

An obvious way to raise money would be to repackage our software and sell it to business. But this is more likely to become a massive diversion and a risk than a wellspring of cash.

In the end it was the difficulty of installing a membership payment system that caused the breakthrough. We had a billing system ready to calculate and invoice the member sites for their monthly hosting. Similarly we were setting up our member sites so that users could pay their annual subscription by credit card or PayPal, or be locked out. We realised it was too complex for such a small team to manage. It was more cost efficient for us to work for free than to support conditional credit-card payments for peanuts. What if we didn't have to negotiate rates, bill people, chase them, and deny them service if they didn't pay? How much time would that save? The rest of the reasoning just fell in to place.

What if some people didn't want to pay at all? Would we lock them out simply to encourage the others to pay?
What if, for €0.20 per month people thought they were entitled to support, or a high performance server, or professional graphic design?
What if running this service leaves us with no resources to innovate, relax, relate, delegate or professionalise?
What if the Cc movement persists in thinking it will provide a viable alternative to debt-money while relying exclusively on paper schemes?
What if all debt-based monies crumbled to dust this year?
What if its too late?
What if it's not too late?

We are serving the whole movement by building open source tools, bespoke sites, and templated social networking sites, for a decentralised, mutual credit clearing economy. We are not quite alone in believing this is THE leverage point and THE navigable way forward. Until Community Forge is adequately resourced, we are doing everything for free, and relying entirely on gift donations. If this movement can't even support two competent, dedicated professionals, then may Mammon have mercy upon us!