Frequently Asked Questions
What is 4CFF?
The For ColdFusion Foundation (4CFF) is a non-profit corporation, incorporated in 2009. The management of the Foundation is overseen by a board of directors, who are elected by the 4CFF membership on an annual basis according to the corporation's bylaws. The board appoints a set of officers to manage the day-to-day operations of the Foundation and oversee 4CFF projects. Each project is managed by a self-selected team of technical experts who are active contributors to the project, according to whatever guidelines for collaborative development are best suited to that project.
Why was 4CFF created?
4CFF was formed to provide a collaborative meritocracy for the benefit of the ColdFusion community with the following primary objectives:
- Create a professional membership organization that empowers the ColdFusion community to improve itself;
- provide resources and a collaborative environment for contributors in order to improve the consistency and overall quality of ColdFusion open source projects;
- create an independent legal entity to which companies and individuals can donate resources and be assured that those resources will be used for the public benefit; and,
- provide a means for individual volunteers to be sheltered from legal suits directed at the Foundation projects.
Why was the name For ColdFusion Foundation (4CFF) chosen?
We wanted to clearly call out that this organization is dedicated to the ColdFusion Community. We also liked that 4CFF is only 4 characters. In this age of Twitter and Facebook, short URLs are important.
Does 4CFF support a specific vendor or company?
All of the volunteers for 4CFF are here to support the ColdFusion Community and not a specific company or agenda.
Is 4CFF a Corporation?
Yes, 4CFF is a membership-based corporation. It is intended to be a non-profit charity, and is in the process of applying for 501(c)(3) status by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Who owns the 4CFF code?
All software developed and maintained within the Foundation belongs to the For ColdFusion Foundation, and therefore its membership. The members own the code and the direction of it and the Foundation. Members request to become Committers to a particular project, Project Owners manage who may commit to the project they manage. Commit access is a privilege, not a right, and is based on trust.
How do I join the 4CFF?
4CFF is a professional membership organization. You can join at any time via the 4CFF website. Members will receive the latest information on projects and will be able to vote on items such as the acceptance of new projects and board representation. Membership is a privilege that requires adherence to the organization by-laws.
Can companies contribute to 4CFF?
Absolutely, in fact it is a goal of 4CFF to make donating and contributing to open source projects easier. Donating to 4CFF will be very straightforward in general. Companies may also choose to contribute code to a Foundation project. They would do so by having an employee become a member and committer to a project. There must be a signed agreement in place with the company that all code committed is owned by the foundation. Companies looking to provide formal sponsorship can be added to the Corporate Sponsor page on the 4CFF site at http://4cff.org/.
How does the 4CFF help its projects?
Many of the projects that exist today are owned and managed by one individual. So, first and foremost, 4CFF provides a collaborative environment where all members have a stake in the future of projects. The Foundation provides guidelines and advice to project owners for the consistent development and deployment of supported projects.
Additionally, the Foundation accepts donations on behalf of its projects clarifying the associated tax issues, and can also create additional self-funded services via community-building activities, such as 4CFF-related T-shirts and 4CFF sponsored events. This funding is used to provide any resources that a project may need including infrastructure as well as providing assistance through hiring consultants to work on projects for the development of the project as well as items like the creation of professional quality documentation.
Furthermore, as a corporate entity, the Foundation is able to be a party to contracts and provides a framework for limiting the legal exposure of individual volunteers while they work on behalf of one of the 4CFF projects. In the past, these volunteers have been personally vulnerable to lawsuits, whether legitimate or frivolous, which impaired many activities that might have significantly improved contributions to the projects and benefited our users.
How can I contribute to the 4CFF and its projects?
There are many ways you can contribute to 4CFF.
- You can become a member of the professional organization
- You can make a donation
- You can become a contributor to an existing 4CFF project
- You can apply to have your existing project become a supported 4CFF project
- You can have your company become a corporate sponsor
How can I donate money to the 4CFF?
Instructions for donating money can be found on our Donations.
Are donations to the 4CFF tax-deductible?
4CFF is a non-profit organization, applying to become an official IRS 501(c)(3) organization. If recognized, this will mean that, for individuals within the U.S., donations to the 4CFF should be tax-deductible. We are not accountants, so this cannot be trusted as financial advice of any kind, but hopefully this description will be useful to those who advise you in these matters.
I am considering starting an open-source software project, can you help?
Contact a board member with your proposal. All proposals for new supported projects must be approved by the board and voted on by the membership.
I have a licensing question. Where do I ask it?
See the page on Licensing page on the 4CFF website.