The Philosophy Behind Funding FOSS: Quality Over Quantity

This chapter explores the rationale behind a selective funding strategy for projects, stressing the importance of quality over quantity. It highlights the intrinsic value of FOSS and discusses the critical need for increased funding to support impactful open-source initiatives.

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Guest

Kailash Nadh

Panelist

Richard Littauer

Show Notes

In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer sits down with Kailash Nath, CTO of Zerodha, to delve into the dynamics of funding and sustaining open-source projects. They explore the establishment of Zerodha's FLOSS/Fund, which allocates a million dollars annually to support pivotal open source projects and discuss the development of the funding.json format to streamline grant applications. The conversation also covers the challenges of creating such funds, including regulatory hurdles, and aims to make financial assistance globally accessible. From detailing efforts to revive India's open-source communities through the FOSS United Foundation to highlighting the obstacles and innovative models in funding open-source software, the episode provides a comprehensive look at both global and Indian perspectives. Hit download now!

[00:01:14] Richard brings up the FLOSS/Fund, a $1 million annual commitment to open source projects. Kailash confirms that the fund is still active and explains how it recently became more structured and a small team has been formed to manage the logistics of the fund.

[00:02:48] The FLOSS/Fund has been created to publicly commit to supporting open source in a structured way. Kailash points out that while other companies give donations to open source, there are few structured initiatives from large organizations.

[00:04:33] Kailash expresses frustration that few billion-dollar companies have set up similar initiatives to support open source projects.

[00:06:24] Kailash explains that the FLOSS/Fund is open to the global open source community and target systemically important projects like libraries and widely used software tools.

[00:08:14] Richard inquires about the application process and Kailash explains instead of traditional grant forms, projects must create and publish a “funding.json” file.

[00:10:35] Kailash shares that the structured application method is designed to avoid the usual awkwardness of fundraising conversations and streamline the process.

[00:13:31] The two discuss the difficulty maintainers face when articulating the importance of their projects, particularly for maintainers who may not have strong written communication skills, Kailash emphasizes that the funding.json method does not replace narrative descriptions but simplifies signaling.

[00:16:17] The conversation switches to global scope and prioritization as Kailash tells us Zerodha’s open source contributions are not limited to projects they directly use, the fund is open to all global projects, and Zerodha hopes to support projects that are crucial for open source infrastructure.

[00:17:09] Kailash discusses the complexity of sending money internationally from India.

[00:18:59] We learn the goal is not to make funding.json go viral through financial incentives, but to organically grow adoption if the tool proves valuable.

[00:20:49] Richard and Kailash explore the broader challenges of sustaining open source projects beyond funding, such as building healthy communities and incentivizing the proper use and citation of open source infrastructure.

[00:25:32] Kailash discusses the Indian open source ecosystem.

[00:30:29] Kailash explains how Zerodha’s initiatives aim to push the Indian industry to give back more to the open source community. He hopes that their efforts will inspire other companies to set up similar initiatives.

[00:32:12] Find out where you can donate to Floss fund and follow Kailash online.

Spotlight

[00:32:56] Richard’s spotlight is his first grade teacher, Mrs. Barril.
[00:33:25] Kailash’s spotlight is Jim Martsolf who introduced him to “webmastering.”