Awesome Maintainer Funding

A curated list of funding programs supporting the awesome work of Open Source maintainers.

Something's missing or wrong? Don't hesitate to contribute, thanks! ❤️

Criteria

We're not collecting all kinds of FOSS funding programs, instead this list focuses on funding programs with the following qualities:

1. Explicit support of general maintenance work.
2. Availability for solo maintainers.
3. The maximum amount compares to at least 3 months full time work.
4. Actively accepting applications.
5. Ideally, no regional restrictions.*

* Sanctions may exclude certain countries or citizenships of maintainers.

For currently closed programs, or those not funding maintenance work, or which are just donation platforms or market places, please see below.

Currently Open

Currently Closed

These programs are currently not accepting applications. Please open an issue or PR if you know otherwise.

• PSF Developers in Residence - Python ecosystem, run by the Python Software Foundation (USA)
• Django Fellowship Program - Python/Django ecosystem, run by the Django Software Foundation (USA)
• eBPF Fellowship - Linux eBPF ecosystem, run by the eBPF Foundation (USA)
• Nominet DNS Fund - DNS ecosystem, run by Nominet (UK), may reopen later in 2026
• FOSS Sustainability Fund - ecosystem agnostic, run by the Open Technology Fund (USA)
• Mozilla Open Source Support Awards - run by the Mozilla Foundation, closed already in 2020.

Not Funding Maintenance Work

These programs target maintainers and FOSS software developers, but are not financing generic maintenance work.

• Prototype Fund - Development of prototypes only, run by the Open Knowledge Foundation (Germany)
• rdcl::tools - Politcal tools development, Wau Holland Stiftiung (Germany)
• GitHub Secure Open Source Fund - Focused on security improvements and vulnerability remediation, run by GitHub (USA)
• Alpha-Omega - Focused on security, run by OpenSSF (USA) and funded by Microsoft, Amazon & Google
• NLnet - NGI Zero Commons Fund - Focused on research & development, operated by the NLNet Foundation (Netherlands)

Donation Platforms

These platforms enable individuals and organizations to financially support open source maintainers through recurring or one-time contributions.

• GitHub Sponsors - GitHub's native sponsorship platform for open source developers
• thanks.dev - Platform connecting sponsors with open source maintainers through dependency insights
• Liberapay - Recurrent donations platform designed for open source contributors with transparent funding
• Tidelift - Enterprise subscription model providing income to open source maintainers
• Open Source Collective - Fiscal host enabling projects to receive and manage funds transparently
• Ko-fi - Simple donation and membership platform for creators
• Patreon - Membership platform for creators to get recurring funding from supporters

Market Places

Brokerage of support and service contracts for FOSS maintainers.

• Open Source Economy - Non-profit platform that connects enterprises with maintainers

Related Lists

• Open Funding - Open guide to funding of open source projects
• NLnet's Alternativ Funding Sources - List of organisations and programmes that have been known to fund work similar to NLnet

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Something's missing or wrong? Don't hesitate to contribute, thanks! ❤️