# Sustainable-Foss

Published articles for Sustainable-Foss.

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## Why Financial Support Is Important for Sustainable Open-Source Software

DevFeed: [Why Financial Support Is Important for Sustainable Open-Source Software](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/its-time-to-start-giving-back-34799.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://pine64.org/2019/08/19/its-time-to-start-giving-back/>)

Published: 2019-08-19T00:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Community blog on PINE64](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/community-blog-on-pine64.md>)

Topics: [Open Source](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/open-source.md>), [foss](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/foss.md>), [Maintainers](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/maintainers.md>), [Linux](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/linux.md>)

Tags: [community](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/community.md>), [contribute](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/contribute.md>), [digital-gap](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/digital-gap.md>), [financial](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/financial.md>), [foss](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/foss.md>), [giving](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/giving.md>), [linux](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/linux.md>), [maintainers](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/maintainers.md>), [open-source-software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source-software.md>), [sustainable-foss](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sustainable-foss.md>)

### AI overview

PINE64 discusses why open-source software projects need financial support to sustain development and keep free software accessible. The article encourages users and organizations to contribute to the projects they rely on.

### Source excerpt

PINE64's commitment to giving back to the community, partner projects and the society has been outlined by TL Lim during our community meetup in Hyde Park, London on 18 August, 2018. No one has ever become poor by giving ~ Anne Frank Free as in a bird, not as a beer. Libre and not gratis. We all understand this concept while simultaneously appreciating that open source software is, for the most part, also free of charge to regular end-users. By relying on donations and sponsorships to make revenue and keep the light on, most projects maintain a low barrier to entry for new and prospectus users. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can readily use just about any Linux or *BSD operating system, as well as any open software these OS' run. Not to mention that anyone is welcome to study, contribute to and alter the said software. I know that I am preaching to the choir but FOSS is amazing. That said, these are hardly the only reasons for using open source software. For a sizable number of people, the payment-free model also means access to good and viable alternatives to proprietary software, which may be financially out of reach. I myself, as an undergrad student in the early 2000's, resorted to using OpenOffice - not for ideological reasons, but rather because I couldn't afford the MS Office Suite. That said, projects need money to sustain the development process and, ultimately, the software they deliver free of charge to end-users. Much has already been written on the subject of sustainability of FOSS projects by people more knowledgeable than myself, so if you're interested in the subject matter then search for FOSS financial sustainability. In a nutshell, keeping a FOSS project financially sustainable is very difficult; In the words of Andre Staltz, data shows "(...) that open source creators and maintainers are receiving low income" and "[t]his is not the first time [in history] hard-working honest people are giving their all, for unfair compensation".