Peer-Directed Projects Center
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The Peer-Directed Projects Center (PDPC), founded in 2002, is an organisation lead and soely operated by Rob Levin (President and Executive Director) which runs the freenode IRC Network and other similar peer-directed projects.
Incorporated in the state of Texas, USA, the PDPC is an IRS 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization.
The PDPC website describes themselves as:
Peer-Directed Projects Center, an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation, was created to run the freenode network and to establish a variety of programs relating to peer-directed project communities. Contributions to PDPC provide resources to help us establish those programs.
According to their charter, the PDPC exists "to help peer-directed project communities flourish", mostly based around free and open source software projects, and encouraging the use of free software through supporting it's development.
Although the PDPC is mostly based around the freenode IRC Network, their website leads people to believe that there may be future projects to which the PDPC is investigating, seeking funding to take on charitable social services projects for the communities.
Despite the official nature of the PDPC, they run with only one full-time paid staffer, the President and Executive Director Rob Levin. Other unpaid volunteer staff for the 2005 period include Christopher Mills (Treasurer), Seth Schoen (Secretary) and Phil Stracchino (Consulting Systems Administrator), and the freenode IRC Network volunteer staff.
In order to find funds, the PDPC has recently conducted waves of fundraising campaigns based around the freenode IRC Network. Supporters who donated supported the freenode IRC Network in funding it's growth. In 2004 the PDPC began to establish formal support levels for users of the network, as well as cloaks to promote donation.
TheRegister provides insight to PDPC: Buy a piece of net (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/01/29/buy_a_piece_of_net/)