We are a collective of tech founders, executives, venture investors, and software engineers who are building the first-ever Open Source Endowment. Our goal is to provide open source maintainers with a new source of nonprofit funding that is:
- 🌱 Sustainable: Ensures long-term, predictable cash flow, independent of economic and political volatility
- 🔗 Systemic: Prioritizes critical yet underfunded OSS, rather than large/popular ones or specific supply chains
- 🚀 Scalable: Operates as an efficient next-gen charity designed for scale, not a like a typical non-profit foundation
Our principles
Open Source Endowment Foundation is a U.S. nonprofit corporation incorporated on February 14, 2025. It is inspired by diverse ideas, including the parallels between OSS and the best research universities and a data-driven approach to open-source donations. We will reveal full details later and for now are pleased to share core principles guiding its work:
- 🤖 Digital-first: Operate like a lean tech startup, maximizing automation and minimizing unnecessary overhead
- 🌍 Global Outlook: Support the entire global open source ecosystem, not just specific countries or regions
- 🔎 Radical Transparency: Publish key internal data whenever possible, balancing openness with privacy
- 👥 People-First: Build inclusive, community-driven governance system, focusing on passionate individuals over corporations
- 🧠 SMART Goals: Use an endowment model to achieve measurable, long-term objectives requiring regular funding
- 🕸️ Decentralized: Maintain a highly diversified funding base, ensuring that every donation matters.
- ⚖️ Neutrality: Remain independent from political or corporate influence, ensuring unbiased, mission-driven funding
Join us!
If you’re concerned that the modern world depends on open source software maintained unsustainably — a vital public good suffering from the tragedy of the commons — and you’re ready to co-fund a promising solution to this issue, we’d love to connect! Please email us at donors@endowment.dev with a few words about yourself.