The OpenStreetMap Foundation is a company limited by guarantee

Company limited by guarantee

In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...

, registered in England and Wales on 22 August 2006.

It is a non-profit foundation whose aim is to support and enable the development of freely-reusable geospatial data. As its name suggests, it is closely connected with the OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. Two major driving forces behind the establishment and growth of OSM have been restrictions on use or availability of map information across much of the world and the advent of inexpensive portable GPS devices.The...

project, although its constitution does not prevent it supporting other projects.

Structure

OSMF is a membership organisation, with all members entitled to vote at a General Meeting on Foundation activities. OSMF members do not determine how OpenStreetMap itself operates, only the Foundation. Membership is open to all on payment of the membership fee of £15 per year. As of November 2009, there were 265 members.

The Foundation is run by a board of seven members, including the Foundation's officers: Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.