Support Contracts: Tried and True Open Source Funding

I've tried a few different methods of funding Open Source software development over the years -- with my primary focus having been on fundraising, bounties and ongoing donations.



And, quite honestly, it just hasn't ever worked very well.I'm not alone in that regardmost mechanisms of funding Open Source just doesn't work worth a hill of beans.




Except one: Paid Support.



To be fair, paid support (typically coming in the form of monthly or annual support contracts) really only is a good fit for professional tools.Servers, databases, dev tools and the like.Because of this fact, I have shied away from going down the "Paid Support" road.



But no longer.



Starting today for my software development tools -- specifically for Illumination Software Creator (but also applying to App-Make-inator and Arduino-Make-inator as well).



The nice part of this sort of system is that it scales well (from small to large) and allows these visual programming projects to get the steady funding they need to continue to grow and flourish.All of which is a very good thing.



For me, it's nice to not be venturing into uncharted territory.There are several, highly successful, case studies that I was able to base this system of support on.Which makes me pretty confident of the long term viability of using such a system for my development tools.And, because of that, it allows me to focus the energy that would, otherwise, be spent trying to break new ground in terms of fundraisingdirectly into the software (and the support of the software) itself.



There are I am offering.Ranging from mega-inexpensive ($10) all the way up to $250 (which, in all reality, is still pretty low for what it is).Take a look.Let me know what you think.If the various support tiers need to be modified slightly to meet your needs, be sure to let me know (email link is on the right).The whole point is to make sure that individuals and organizations can find a way to rely upon this software.So if changes need to be made, don't be shy.
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