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by mimixco 2766 days ago
I don't think donations are workable as a way of funding open source projects. The most successful companies in this space have either a freemium model or they charge for documentation, customization, and support. Is there something in your product that users can't live without that you can charge for? The rest of it could be free minus that one feature.

It's also perfectly acceptable to offer a free version as source only for those folks who want to compile and update it on their own -- then charge for the compiled version with automatic updates.
1 comments
burtonator 2766 days ago
You might be right... the successful models seem to revolve around:

1. Open Source projects that are used by big companies that can't live without them.

https://opencollective.com/webpack

Webpack is a good example and received $500k per year in donations.

2. Open Source projects that are sponsored by big companies from the start (Kubernettes is an example).

3. OSS projects that are successful and receive contributions from bit companies like Amazon and other companies develop around the ecosystem.

link