form-1023/narrative.txt

OpenGov FoundationEIN: 45-4848546Narrative Response to Form 1023 Application; Part IV	OpenGov Foundation (the "Applicant") hereby submits this attachment to supplement Form 1023, a filing to apply for exemption as an organization described under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code").  For ease of review, Applicant will quote the question being answered in bold and then submit its response in regular type.	Applicant's purpose is to develop and deploy technologies that promote citizen participation in government, increase the accessibility of government information and support government transparency.	Applicant is an organization that qualifies as a charitable organization. Itsactivities include those that offer "sunlight" to government deliberations and "lessen the burdens of government." There are many examples of organizations that have been granted Section 501(c)(3) status for activities that assist lawmakers in exercising their recognized public responsibilities. These include so-called "government assistance organizations." SeeIRS General Counsel Memorandum 37401, Feb. 2, 1978, stating that an organization that assisted a mayor's office by providing funds for a variety of official purposes can qualify for tax exemption as a charity and function in cooperation with the government. Since Applicant facilitates citizens' involvement and assists legislators in the development and improvement of public legislation, it assists government by lessening the burdens of obtaining public participation, and in fact improving and making such participation more widespread by use of the internet.	The IRS definition of the term "charitable" includes not only activities which "lessen the burdens of government," but also those activities which "promote social welfare. Treasury Regulation Section 1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(3). Promotion of social welfare is defined as engagement in activities that promote the common good and general welfare of the people, and bringing about civic betterments and social improvements. Treasury Regulation Section 1.501(c)(4)-1. The fact that Applicant's program is free and available to the public as a means to improve and comment on the very laws that affect that same public, evidences a strong social welfare purpose in its activities.	Applicant was incorporated on March 20, 2012.  Because it has been in existence for less than six months since it was incorporated, Applicant's activities are not yet fully implemented.  Applicant has nevertheless commenced substantial planning activities to implement its charitable purpose.	Applicant is located in Washington, D.C.  As the Federal Government has grown in both power and size, the ability for individual taxpayers to know whatOpenGov FoundationEIN: 45-4848546Narrative Response to Form 1023 Application; Part IVPage 2government does with their tax dollars, to contribute their knowledge to government policymaking, and to hold government accountable has remained weak at best.  But as more Americans access the Internet and use technology to make informed decisions in their personal and professional lives, there is a need for the same peer-to-peer information-sharing and collaboration tools in the relationship between citizens and their government.  Applicant intends to conduct research to discover where Internet-based applications can have the greatest impact strengthening citizen-to-government collaboration and information-sharing, develop or modify existing technologies to meet those needs, and disseminate them freely to the public.  Initially, the focus will be on the Federal Government but eventually applicant intends to do the same for the relationship between State and Local Governments and the citizens for whom they work.Applicant's specific programs are as follows:	Based upon an initial review of the state of public participation in government and the experience of Applicant's founders, Applicant intends to develop and deploy the following technologies while engaging in the following information-gathering, analysis and disseminationactivities. Please note that Applicant will partner with existing organizations and software development projects to achieve its goals where possible.1. Free Legislative Collaboration Tool: Applicant intends to lead the development and deployment of an open source software tool that supports collaboration between government and the public on government documents such as legislation, regulations, treaties and trade agreements.  The tool, dubbed Madison, exists as a proprietary beta version at http://KeepTheWebOPEN.com and	Applicant is working to document the source code in preparation for posting on an open source software repository such as Github. As part of the open source software project, Applicant intends to travel around America to engage with the developer community at both third-party conferences and Applicant-sponsored events.  As Madison improves and development progresses, Applicant intends to offer it free to the public and work with government officials in the Legislative and Executive Branches to adopt as part of their policymaking process.OpenGov FoundationEIN: 45-4848546Narrative Response to Form 1023 Application; Part IVPage 32. Free Database of Government Information: Applicant intends to build a free, open and accessible database of all government information on which its legislative collaboration tool would run.  The database would include, but not be limited to, proposed and officially introduced legislation, pending and enacted government regulation, proposed treaties and trade agreements.  As the database becomes complete with all current Federal Government documents, Applicant intends to add the entirety of the U.S. Code, Supreme Court decisions, and Federal Government documents from past Congresses and Administrations.  This would include a significant digitization of paper documents and translation of currently digital documents into open data formats such as XML.3. Free Experts Database and Communication Platform: Applicant intends to build a free database of experts for government officials, their staff members and citizens to utilize in policymaking discussions and development.  Dubbed ECHO - "Everyone Can Help Out" - it would help overcome government's lack of knowledge in4. many subject areas about which it legislates and regulates.  Anyone with expertise in a particular policy area would submit a profile with substantiating information such as published research, and users looking for help in that policy area would query the database for assistance and be able to communicate with the expert through the platform to solicit advice and participation in their policymaking project.  Users would then be able to rate their	interactions with the expert, leaving reviews and recommendations 	for other users to learn from when conducting their own queries.5. Research: Applicant intends to conduct research into the problem of a lack of citizen participation in government and inaccessibility of government information, disseminating findings and recommendations free of charge through Applicant's website http://OpenGovFoundation.org.  Applicant will collaborate with existing government transparency organizations to conduct the research and develop actionable recommendations for policymakers and citizens.  Initial research will focus on supporting the technology development projects Applicant is conducting, and eventually would expand to larger questions of government data accessibility and citizen engagement with government.OpenGov FoundationEIN: 45-4848546Narrative Response to Form 1023 Application; Part IVPage 4Conflict of Interest Policy      Applicant has adopted a "Conflicts of Interest" Policy for its professionals, which is attached to this application as a response to Part V; 5a of Form 1023.  All components of the Applicant are periodically reviewed under this Conflicts of Interest" Policy.  In addition, Applicant has also adopted a review procedure consistent with the Internal Revenue Code Section 4958 regarding employee compensation, found at Article IX of the attached Bylaws.Composition of the Board and Compensation	The governing body of the Applicant shall be the Board of Directors. The Board shall consist of no less than three nor more than nine Directors. Each Director shall hold office for three years or until his successor is duly elected and qualifies.	The Directors shall not be compensated. Directors may be reimbursed for any reasonable expenses incurred by them in the execution of their official duties, including travel expenses.