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The LinuxFund was founded at the peak of the 1999 high-tech boom.[1] They gave away their first t-shirt in the summer of 1999 at the LinuxWorld Expo. By the summer of 2000, the Developer Grant Program had begun.
Their business model is to raise funds and use the proceeds to fund Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects. The principal funding source is a LinuxFund affinity credit card from bank MBNA, bearing a graphic of Tux, the Linux Penguin.
Confusion and Stagnation
In 2003 the company fell into stagnation. After some investigation by NewsForge's Jay Lyman after the LinuxFund website went down, it was revealed that the organization was not actively distributing funds to FOSS projects and that the company had $126,155.29 (and growing) in the bank.[3] Then-executive-director, Jerritt Collord, told Lyman that everyone involved had gotten "burned out" and that the "largely one-man organization" was sitting idle after lackluster success with LinuxFund-lead projects including the Open Oregon Technology Center.
In 2005 and 2006 the company reorganized and is now actively funding FOSS projects.
Current Projects
The Linuxfund currently supports over 10 different projects including Debian, the Wikimedia Foundation, Blender (software), Free Geek, Freenode, and OpenSSH. Most of the currently-funded projects receive $500/month in support, but in the past the Linuxfund has given lump-sum donations on the order of $1000–$5000.[2]
Funding Model
In 2005 Debian Project Leader Branden Robinson thanked the LinuxFund for their continued support of the Debian Project and noted the benefit of long-term grants to FOSS projects:
"This funding will...enable us to do a bit more forward planning. Debian runs entirely on donations...and a steady, predictable flow of revenue should help us feel comfortable with some more long-range resource planning. LinuxFund deserves not just our thanks, but credit for pioneering new funding models for the Free Software community."[5]
Board Members
* Benjamin Cox
* David Mandel
* Scott Rainey
* Candace Ramcharan
Current Officers
* Scott Rainey, President
* David Mandel, Executive Director
* Candace Ramcharan, Secretary
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