Financial Agreement
Greaterthan is committed to clear, transparent finances and continuous open dialogue about money and value distribution. We know that such conversations can feel uncomfortable, and do our best to create a safe and trusting environment to be able to address and practice how we talk about and spend our money.
1. Project Budgets
Project teams can choose to manage their own budget in whichever way they choose, as long as the budget is transparent to the whole organization and there is one person that is clearly identified who is accountable for managing it.
There are no standardized daily or hourly rates for work, nor processes for how project budgets are distributed, as these vary between contracts, types of work and level of expertise of contributors. Each project team is free to choose an approach to how to distribute its budget, as long as the intention remains to find an equitable budget distribution between team members. Many Greaterthan teams use the Happy Money Story practice for budget distribution.
2. Greaterthan Commons Budget
Contributions to GT Commons
All contract work invoiced for through Greaterthan Collective Ltd contributes 15 % to the Greaterthan commons.
These 15 % include:
Overhead costs of operating the entity (approx. 10%), such as operational support, accounting and bookkeeping, legal costs, fix costs for software
Recurring donations to communities in our ecosystem
Collective "investments" in existing projects (for instance the maintenance of Cobudget), as well new projects.
For certain types of contracts that non partners are working on, the % to the commons may be lower, subject to negotiation (based on factors such as the size and complexity of the contract.).
In certain cases, the percent increases to 20 %: As was agreed in May 2021, if a contract turns into a recurring "retainer" or long term gig after the first phase of work (between 3 and 5 months) then an additional 5 % of the contract revenue go into a dedicated Biz Dev Bucket, upon payment of invoices. The project team determines when exactly the extra 5 % kick in, upon advice from the Biz Dev Stewards.
The 15 % rule will be revisited at In-Person Sprints/Gatherings to see if it makes sense with how the business evolves. It is up to the discretion of any partner (for individual work) or project team to increase the percentage their projects contribute to the GT commons, if they like.
Further down we explain how the spending of this budget and investment "surplus" is decided.
Reserves
The Commons Budget is run with a 6-month runway of reserve funds (amount based on our average monthly operating cost), to ensure that the organization can remain stable if there are sudden changes in projects. If the reserves are at risk of falling below the 6-month threshold, the MVB must alert the partners, so that they can take the necessary action.
This was decided on Loomio in February 2020.
3. Decisions about Commons Budget & Surplus
The Greaterthan comons budget and the allocation of any surplus are agreed through a collaborative funding process twice a year.
An in-person meeting to set these budgets /distributions takes place twice a year at Sprints, set in sync with the end of the financial year
One month before the next upcoming meeting a team of 2 (of which at least one partner) prepares a proposal for how to run the collaborative budgeting/funding process and facilitates it. i.e.:
Cobudget
Loomio Dot-voting
Travel costs, accommodation and food for in-person sprints for partners are included in the commons budget
Surplus can be allocated to one or both of these areas:
Bonuses to be paid out to partners and associates for great work done
Investment into new projects that are aligned with our purpose (such as Cobudget, GT Academy)
4. Funding the ecosystem
Greaterthan is committed to contributing part of its commons budget to funding communities in its ecosystem, such as Enspiral and Ouishare, in the long term. The amount of the financial contributions is reassessed as Greaterthan’s revenue evolves. The contributions are however not only of financial nature, but include other types of partnerships, as well as Greaterthan partners and associates contributing their time to these communities.
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