What is OpenPledge?
OpenPledge is a platform designed to support and connect open-source contributors with pledgers(donors), creating a streamlined way for contributors to receive financial support for their work.
How it Works
- For Contributors: Developers and maintainers can showcase their open-source projects and gain support from companies and individuals interested in funding open-source initiatives.
- For Pledgers: Individuals or companies can pledge funds toward specific projects/issues, helping to fuel open-source work they rely on or care about.
- Transparency: All contributions and pledges are publicly trackable, allowing pledgers to see the impact of their contributions.
Why It’s Valuable
- Supports Sustainability: Open Pledge helps open-source projects become more financially sustainable, reducing reliance on volunteer work.
- Empowers Developers: Contributors get recognition and fair compensation, encouraging long-term dedication to open-source.
- Bridges the Gap Between Tech and Community: Open Pledge aligns the interests of tech companies with the open-source community by making support accessible and transparent.
Current Goals
- Beta testing current functionalities and gathering feedback.
- Onboard companies committed to supporting open-source projects.
- Encourage individual pledgers to support projects that resonate with them.
If you’re interested in open-source or know projects that need sustainable support, Open Pledge might be worth checking out!
Open Collective also supports open-source projects, but Open Pledge has a more granular, results-based approach. With GitHub API integration, Open Pledge can automatically detect merged pull requests, which enables funds to be distributed based on specific contributions rather than general funding. This system encourages and rewards ongoing, measurable contributions, making it easier for pledgers to see direct results and for contributors to receive fair compensation tied to their work.
So it’s like a bounty system then? Wouldn’t that contribute to low-quality PRs that are rushed to get the money ASAP? And what if the company tries to cancel the bounty right before the commit is pushed, when all the work is done?
Yes, that’s a great point! After extensive discussions with both maintainers and companies interested in Open Pledge, we found an optimal solution: the maintainer or project owner connects their project to Open Pledge and flags specific issues as eligible for pledging. This way, contributors know which tasks are open for funding. Once a donation is made, it cannot be canceled, providing stability and commitment to the contributor—unless it has an expiration date, which is clearly displayed upfront for transparency.
I hope that makes sense :)
However if you see any other possible issues please let me know!
OK, sounds good to me. Thanks for the quick reply.
Ah, very nice!