The open source sustainability crisis keeps getting worse. The XZ Utils backdoor incident showed us what happens when maintainers burn out. Log4Shell exposed how critical infrastructure runs on volunteer work.
The Open Source Pledge aims to address this by encouraging companies to pay $2,000 per developer per year to support the open source projects they depend on.
Let’s do some quick math. A company with 50 developers would pledge $100,000 yearly to open source projects. For many tech companies, that’s less than one senior engineer’s total compensation.
Early adopters like Sentry.io, Sanity, Laravel, and VoidZero have already joined the pledge. Credit where credit is due, see the full list of members here.
A massive portion of the software we all depend on is based on Open Source projects. Though these projects are very important, the people who tirelessly maintain them often do so without being paid at all.
If widely adopted, the OSSPledge could transform open source maintenance from volunteer work to sustainable careers. This could help retain and attract maintainers to critical projects.
OSSPledge Aggressive Marketing
Pay your share. Whether you’re a CEO, CFO, CTO, or just a dev, your company surely depends on Open Source software. It’s time to pay the maintainers. — opensourcepledge.com
You might have seen this image of a billboard in San Francisco:
The OSSPledge is an ambitious effort to address open source sustainability challenges, but the aggressive marketing approach shown in the billboard image may not be the most constructive.
While the core idea of having companies invest in the open source projects they depend on is sound, the confrontational “Chief Tightwad Officer” messaging could potentially alienate the very companies the initiative aims to engage.
It is bold, but it might not be the most effective way to encourage companies to participate in the OSSPledge. A more collaborative and inclusive approach could be more successful in the long run. I get what they’re trying to do, and it might just work.
Who Handles The Money?
According to OSSPledge, the payments are made directly to maintainers.
The Open Source Pledge does not handle any funds — we simply facilitate money being paid directly to maintainers. — Source
Who Gets Paid?
Alright, let’s talk about where the OSSPledge wants companies to direct their hard-earned cash. No beating around the bush here - the goal is to get money straight into the hands of the open source maintainers keeping the digital world afloat.
The way I see it, there are a few clear-cut ways to play ball. Direct funding to the folks actually writing and updating the code? That’s music to their ears. Funneling cash through foundations that support open source initiatives? Also a solid move, even if those organizations haven’t exactly been known for lining maintainers’ pockets in the past.
But here’s where things get tricky - no self-serving shenanigans allowed. Bankrolling your own pet projects or feeding your company’s walled garden? Sorry, that doesn’t fly. And let’s not even talk about trying to buy special treatment or priority features. This is about giving credit where credit is due, plain and simple.
Look, I get it - all companies are looking to maximize the return on investment. But when it comes to open source, we’ve got to check our corporate sensibilities at the door. These are the same people keeping the lights on for all of us, often out of the goodness of their hearts. The least we can do is make sure they can, you know, afford to eat once in a while.
const eligiblePayments = { allowed: [ "Direct maintainer funding", "Foundation support", "No-strings sponsorships" ], notAllowed: [ "Projects you control", "Your ecosystem only", "Employment of maintainers", "Pay-for-feature deals" ]}Can the OSSPledge Actually Work?
The Pledge could transform open source maintenance from volunteer work into sustainable careers. But it faces challenges:
- Adoption Rate: Companies need to see this as investment in their supply chain, not charity. Early adopters like Sentry and Laravel demonstrate it’s possible.
- Fund Distribution: Even if everyone paid, getting money to the right projects efficiently remains complex. Existing platforms like Open Collective help, but we need better infrastructure.
- Global Fairness: $2,000 means different things in different economies. The Pledge acknowledges this challenge in issue #36.
The Pledge isn’t perfect, but it’s a concrete step toward sustainability. It sets a clear baseline: If your business depends on open source (it does), you should pay for it.
I think we’ll see this evolve into something like carbon credits for tech - a standard way to offset your open source impact. The amount might adjust based on company size and location, but the principle is sound: Pay for the foundations you build on.
The real question isn’t whether $2,000 per dev is the right number. It’s whether we’re ready to treat open source maintenance as real work deserving real compensation.
