Organization

Chive is operated by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to open scholarly communication. This document describes the organizational structure, governance bodies, and funding model.

Legal structure

Chive Foundation

• Type: 501(c)(3) public charity (US)
• Mission: Advancing open access to scholarly preprints through decentralized infrastructure
• Incorporation: Delaware, USA
• EIN: [Pending]

Charitable purposes

1. Operate the Chive preprint platform
2. Develop open-source scholarly infrastructure
3. Support researcher data sovereignty
4. Promote open peer review
5. Advance knowledge graph development

Governance bodies

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      Board of Directors                         │
│                    (Ultimate authority)                         │
└────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                             │
         ┌───────────────────┼───────────────────┐
         ▼                   ▼                   ▼
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────┐
│   Technical     │ │   Community     │ │   Executive             │
│   Steering      │ │   Council       │ │   Director              │
│   Committee     │ │                 │ │                         │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────┘
         │                   │
         └───────────────────┘
                   │
                   ▼
        ┌─────────────────────┐
        │   Working Groups    │
        │   & Committees      │
        └─────────────────────┘

Board of Directors

Composition: 7-11 members Terms: 3 years, staggered Meetings: Quarterly minimum

Seat type	Count	Selection
Elected	4-6	Community vote
Appointed	2-3	Board appointment
Ex-officio	1-2	TSC chair, Community Council chair

Responsibilities:

• Strategic direction
• Financial oversight
• Executive Director hiring/oversight
• Policy approval
• Legal compliance

Technical Steering Committee (TSC)

Composition: 5-9 members Terms: 2 years Meetings: Monthly

Selection criteria:

• Significant code contributions
• Technical expertise in relevant areas
• Demonstrated community engagement

Responsibilities:

• Technical roadmap
• Architecture decisions
• Release management
• Security oversight
• Code of conduct enforcement (technical)

Community Council

Composition: 7-11 members Terms: 2 years Meetings: Monthly

Selection criteria:

• Active community participation
• Diverse representation (geography, discipline, institution type)
• Non-technical contributions valued equally

Responsibilities:

• User experience priorities
• Community guidelines
• Trusted editor appointments
• Content policy recommendations
• Outreach and engagement

Staff

Executive Director

Hired by and reports to the Board:

• Day-to-day operations
• Staff management
• Fundraising
• Partnerships
• Public representation

Staff positions

Role	FTEs	Responsibilities
Engineering	3-5	Platform development
Operations	1-2	Infrastructure, security
Community	1-2	Support, engagement, documentation
Admin	1	Finance, HR, legal

Funding model

Revenue sources

Source	Target %	Description
Institutional memberships	40%	Libraries, universities
Grants	30%	Foundations, government
Individual donations	15%	Researchers, public
Services	10%	API access, integrations
Reserves	5%	Investment income

Institutional membership tiers

Tier	Annual fee	Benefits
Supporter	$1,000	Logo on supporters page, newsletter
Partner	$5,000	+ Advisory input, early access
Sustainer	$25,000	+ Custom integrations, dedicated support
Founding	$100,000	+ Board observer seat, co-branding

Grant strategy

Target funders:

• Open science foundations (OSI, SCOSS, Arcadia)
• Research funders with OA mandates (NIH, Wellcome, ERC)
• Technology foundations (Sloan, Moore, Mellon)

Financial transparency

Published annually:

• Audited financial statements
• Funding sources and amounts
• Executive compensation
• Program expenses by category

Decision-making

Consensus seeking

Most decisions aim for consensus:

1. Proposal made
2. Discussion period
3. Objections addressed
4. Revised if needed
5. Consensus check
6. Vote if consensus not reached

Voting thresholds

Body	Quorum	Passage
Board	Majority	Majority present
TSC	5 members	2/3 majority
Community Council	5 members	Simple majority

Conflict of interest

All governance body members must:

• Disclose conflicts annually
• Recuse from relevant decisions
• Abstain from votes where conflicted

Elections

Board elections

Phase	Duration	Activity
Nomination	30 days	Self-nomination or endorsement
Campaign	14 days	Candidate statements, Q&A
Voting	7 days	Ranked-choice voting

Eligibility to vote: Active community members (10+ contributions or 1 year of regular activity)

TSC elections

Phase	Duration	Activity
Nomination	14 days	Self-nomination + endorsement
Voting	7 days	Approval voting

Eligibility to vote: Contributors with merged PRs

Community Council elections

Phase	Duration	Activity
Nomination	14 days	Community nomination
Voting	7 days	Ranked-choice voting

Eligibility to vote: Active community members

Working groups

Standing working groups:

Group	Focus	Reports to
Security	Vulnerability response, audits	TSC
Accessibility	A11y compliance, inclusive design	Community Council
Localization	Translation, internationalization	Community Council
Documentation	User guides, API docs	TSC
Outreach	Marketing, partnerships	Community Council

Ad-hoc working groups formed as needed for specific initiatives.

Policies

Key policies

Policy	Governs	Owner
Code of Conduct	All community spaces	Community Council
Privacy Policy	User data handling	Board
Terms of Service	Platform use	Board + legal
Contributor License	Code contributions	TSC
Moderation Policy	Content standards	Community Council

Policy changes

1. Draft by relevant body
2. Community comment period (30 days)
3. Revision based on feedback
4. Board approval (if required)
5. Publication with effective date

Amendments

Changes to organizational structure require:

Change	Approval
Bylaws amendment	2/3 Board + community vote
Board composition	2/3 Board
New governance body	2/3 Board + TSC + Community Council
Mission change	Unanimous Board + community vote

Contact

• Board: board@chive.pub
• TSC: tsc@chive.pub
• Community Council: community@chive.pub
• General: hello@chive.pub

Next steps

• Governance overview: How decisions are made
• Voting system: Proposal voting
• Moderation: Content policies