Open Source Initiative Announces 2015 Membership Drive

PALO ALTO, Calif. - Feb. 2, 2015 - PRLog -- The OSI will launch their first ever Individual Membership Drive this year, coinciding with their 17th anniversary, Feb 3rd, 2015. The goal is to sign up 2,398 members in celebration of the organization's founding on 2/3/98 — "2,398 for 2/3/98". The membership drive will also run in parallel with the OSI's annual Board elections (http://opensource.org/elections), with nominations opening on Feb 2nd. The membership campaign will become an annual event.

Membership Benefits

Membership provides several benefits to individuals, the OSI and open source software. Only OSI Individual Members can vote for OSI Board Directors: they can even run for Director seats themselves. Individual Members are invited to join or create OSI sponsored Working Groups and Incubator Projects in various areas of open source advocacy and adoption. Individual Members are eligible for grants to attend conferences and meetings related to open source software on behalf of the OSI. Interested individuals can find out more about the benefits of becoming a Member of the Open Source Initiative and how to join, at: opensource.org/members

If the OSI reach their goal of 2,398 new members, they’ll not only raise $95,920 to help with operations and community-based initiatives, they'll also build an even stronger constituency to support efforts to raise awareness about and adoption of not only the projects of their Affiliate members (http://opensource.org/affiliates), but open source software, communities and development internationally.

The OSI is asking their existing community of Affiliate Members and Corporate Sponsors as well as open source software enthusiasts to help spread the word about the Individual Membership campaign, by posting about it, and encouraging friends and colleagues to join. Use the #for2398 hashtag when Tweeting.

You can read more about the OSI 2014 Operational & Organizational Highlights, Community Engagement, Mission & Mandate, Sponsorship Opportunities in the recently released Open Source Initiative 2014 Annual Report (http://opensource.org/node/729).

About the Open Source Initiative

Founded in 1998, the Open Source Initiative (http://opensource.org) protects and promotes open source by providing a foundation for community success. It champions open source in society through education, infrastructure and collaboration. The OSI is a California public benefit corporation, with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.