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FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

floss.fund

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Re: FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

#41

Post by j33zusjuice »

marginalia_nu wrote: post #35
ignoramous wrote: post #5

To apply, the project must place a funding.json in their public code repository or at a well-known uri location on their domain: https://dir.floss.fund/submit That's already 10x more simpler than the 20 page document some of these other orgs have you fill. Looking at you Llama Impact Grants, OpenAI Cybersecurity Grants, NLNet, & OpenTechFund. --- Disclaimer: A project I co-develop was granted £3.75k in 2023 back when…

Applying for an nlnet grant generously takes like an afternoon. Like the entire rationale for their organization is to prevent you from having to write 20 pages of fluff to appeal to EU bureaucrats, so you can be to the point and chat with technically minded people instead.

Are you saying that as a good or bad thing (an afternoon)? I have no clue if that’s good or bad, never done this kinda thing (more of a sysadmin than a SWE).

Re: FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

#42

Post by j33zusjuice »

rileymat2 wrote: post #31
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably need more stuff for tax (tax deduction) reasons, after all it can be considered a (deductible) donation.

I am curious, out of ignorance, if business many expenses are deductible anyway, what would be the fundamental difference between calling it a Marketing/Advertising expense to buy community good will compared with a charitable deduction?

I don’t know the answer, but I think it depends on how the money gets appropriated. You can’t buy a TV spot and call it good will, but could you setup a food drive in a large target city and you setup a bunch of fun shit for families and kids, and during which you also promoted your business. Can a corp write that off? Seems like the answer would be yes, but maybe not.

Re: FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

#43

Post by j33zusjuice »

BoiledCabbage wrote: post #39
doctorpangloss wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Charitable giving ought to have less conditions than an investment. Of course, the opposite is true.

> Charitable giving ought to have less conditions than an investment. You should give a "why" with your statement.

Agreed. Isn’t it better to donate to something that’s actually used than something that might have an audience of 1? It’d be nice to see donations to newer projects gaining momentum, but they get to choose how to hand out the cash. I just hope it’s not projects that are already exceptionally well funded (it’d be kinda ridicous if they gave $100k for Linux, for example).

Re: FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

#44

Post by ohashi »

youssefabdelm wrote: post #21

* Fine print: For successful projects only, and up to $100K per year per project —— From their FAQ: > Currently, our focus is on supporting existing, widely used, and impactful projects to specifically contribute to their sustainability. Very new projects or projects with minimal usage are not considered for the time being. > A project can apply for funding of up to $100,000 in one year. To keep the logistics and ope…

I was curious how they might handle something that isn't ready yet, but in the process of being built. But that answers it, it's not eligible. Oh well :( Plenty of good open source out there deserving as well.

Re: FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

#45

Post by kijin »

skeeter2020 wrote: post #27
Kovah wrote: post #8

I wonder what projects will end up receiving money from this fund. It's nice that more funds are available, but my best guess would be that these will go to projects which probably don't really need them anyway. From my experience, open source projects are either big and massively funded, able to pay their own developers a salary, or the projects end up in a void filled with burned-out maintainers whose only apprecia…

Doesn't this target exactly your second case? Successful projects in terms of usage and impact that can't be maintained by volunteers alone?

What does a one-time donation between $10k and $100k do to help the second case? Perhaps it will allow the maintainer to take a few months off and work full-time on the project, or maybe hire someone to clear the backlog. But what happens afterward? Without a clear pathway to making the project self-sustaining, you've merely postponed maintainer burnout by a couple of years at best.

The biggest problem with occasional $15 donations is that they're occasional. Sustainability requires a somewhat stable ARR.

Re: FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

#46

Post by chubot »

ignoramous wrote: post #5

To apply, the project must place a funding.json in their public code repository or at a well-known uri location on their domain: https://dir.floss.fund/submit That's already 10x more simpler than the 20 page document some of these other orgs have you fill. Looking at you Llama Impact Grants, OpenAI Cybersecurity Grants, NLNet, & OpenTechFund. --- Disclaimer: A project I co-develop was granted £3.75k in 2023 back when…

I concur with the other reply -- in my experience, it's not difficult to apply for an NLnet grant, or receive funds from one

Re: FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

#47

Post by marginalia_nu »

j33zusjuice wrote: post #41
marginalia_nu wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Applying for an nlnet grant generously takes like an afternoon. Like the entire rationale for their organization is to prevent you from having to write 20 pages of fluff to appeal to EU bureaucrats, so you can be to the point and chat with technically minded people instead.

Are you saying that as a good or bad thing (an afternoon)? I have no clue if that’s good or bad, never done this kinda thing (more of a sysadmin than a SWE).

Comparatively very good. There are cases where it's weeks worth of paperwork and documetation.

Re: FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

#48

Post by andris9 »

myprotegeai wrote: post #37

I've maintained a fairly popular open source project for over 13 years[1]. The software is basically "complete." How does funding work for someone like me? I have no initiatives with it that require funding. Occasionally, I need to fix a bizarre obscure bug, or support a new python version/feature (async/await being the last big one). But otherwise, I just field questions a few times a month. Truth be told, I'd rathe…

I had the exact same experience with Nodemailer, a popular open-source project I started 14 years ago. My solution was to empty the README file and set up a dedicated documentation website. Since the project is popular, the documentation website receives around 70,000 visits per month. I initially tried paid ads, but they only netted about $200 per month—not great. So, I started a commercial project somewhat related to Nodemailer and added ads for my new project on Nodemailer’s documentation page. This brings in around 3,000 visits per month to my paid project through the ads on the documentation page. Even if the conversion rate is low, it’s essentially free traffic for my paid project, which is now approaching $10,000 MRR. Without the free visitor flow from my OSS project’s documentation page, I definitely wouldn’t have made it this far.

Re: FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

#49

Post by cxr »

myprotegeai wrote: post #37

I've maintained a fairly popular open source project for over 13 years[1]. The software is basically "complete." How does funding work for someone like me? I have no initiatives with it that require funding. Occasionally, I need to fix a bizarre obscure bug, or support a new python version/feature (async/await being the last big one). But otherwise, I just field questions a few times a month. Truth be told, I'd rathe…

When someone no longer enjoys the food in a restaurant, they tend to stop going. Why not do the same: just not do the thing that you wish not to do?

Re: FLOSS/fund for free and open source projects

#50

Post by philipwhiuk »

doctorpangloss wrote: post #33
rileymat2 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am curious, out of ignorance, if business many expenses are deductible anyway, what would be the fundamental difference between calling it a Marketing/Advertising expense to buy community good will compared with a charitable deduction?

The IRS doesn’t like businesses that only lose money, also known as hobbies. That’s why you can’t say you are a musician and expense your $700 Fender pedals.

huh I thought they were called startups ;)
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