Hello, I started donating to my favourite open-source projects a couple years ago, but stopped about 6 months ago for different reasons and wanted to get back into it.

I wanted to ask if anyone here has a set system or process they follow when donating

  • How much money do you donate? A set amount, whatever you feel like, a percentage of your earnings?

  • When do you donate? Whenever you remember, on the first of the month, Thursdays?

  • Do you have a minimum donation amount?

  • How do you decide what projects to support? Do you forego donations if you’ve contributed in other ways? Do you keep a list?

  • Do you donate to all equally or do you have some sort of ranking? Is it by amount of use, subjective preference, something else?

  • What platforms do you prefer using? Liberapay, Opencollective, Patreon, ko-fi, Paypal, Monero, actual post?

So far the system I’ve devised for myself would go something like:

  • put 2 % of all my earnings, whatever they are, in a separate account
  • every quarter (on the first of January, April, July and October) donate the full amount of money in the account (with a minimum of 5 €, so as not to lose a big amount in fees)
  • keep a ranked list of projects that I’ve used or deemed important or promising in the last three months (projects I donated to recently go to the bottom of the list), things at the top get more money than things at the bottom
  • prioritise Liberapay since it’s open-source itself
  • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
    1·
    3 months ago

    Not specifically software, but I divide my donations into three categories - for my budget, that’s basically the $10-20 range, the $20-500 range, and $500-2000. I track the donations I make over the year, with a target in mind. For me, the target is 10% of income.

    I decide which organizations are doing the most important work, and prioritize those. I try to donate monthly to those that I make use of regularly, then I give the rest as what comes up from day to day.

    I consider free software to be a social good, so I don’t separate it from other giving.

  • Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    3 months ago

    I’ve only done it for a year now, but I’m giving CHF 100.- (around 100$) equally shared between all the open source projects I’m using a lot.

    I keep a list to remember all of them and I update it every year.

    And then I’m adapting to the platform they use to get money.

  • Pierre-Yves Lapersonne@programming.dev
    0·
    3 months ago

    Very interesting topic in fact, I am not sure a unique and perfect solution exists.

    In fact, it depends to how much you earn, how matter does for you the project, how big it is, etc. It is a question of feelings after all.

    For example you may want to donate $20 one time to a useful tool you use, but for an app you enjoy using which match your own values you may want to send each year $50. But for some people it is complicated to give money, they need to satisfy their own needs before and people don’t have all the same incomes.

    FMPOV, if the project is “just a tool” it can be a $20 one shot. If I use the software daily, it can be $50 per year. Maybe more if I feel it will help.

    About the transaction medium, it depends. Projects can use Liberapay, others PayPal or Open Collective, or also in-app purchases. I don’t use cryptocurrencies because of the transactions fees.

    Hope it helps!

    • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
      1·
      3 months ago

      I don’t use cryptocurrencies because of the transactions fees.

      Unless you are sending cash, check or ACH, credit card rent seekers take 3-4% cut

  • sjh@sh.itjust.works
    01·
    3 months ago

    Hey there! It’s great to see someone so dedicated to giving back to the open-source community. I think your system is pretty solid and well thought out! Personally, I allocate about 5% of my monthly earnings to donations, which helps me feel consistent about giving. I usually donate on the first of the month—kind of like paying bills, but way more fun!

    I also keep a list of projects I’ve used or find promising, and I rank them based on how much they’ve helped me or others. Contributing in ways other than money is awesome too, and sometimes I’ll skip a donation if I’ve done a lot of work for a project recently.

    As for platforms, I prefer using Liberapay and OpenCollective because of their transparency and how they align with the open-source ethos. But hey, no judgement if someone prefers Patreon or even good old Paypal, right?

    Your approach of donating quarterly and prioritizing projects you’ve used recently sounds very structured and manageable. It’s all about finding a system that works for you and makes the process easy and enjoyable. Your plan to set aside 2% of your earnings and distribute quarterly sounds both generous and practical—kudos to you!

    Keep up the fantastic work and thanks for supporting open source!