One of the things that usually arise out of using free software long enough is a willingness and desire to help out in some fashion or another. For many, this takes on the form of becoming a developer. And that is a wide net that could encompass helping to develop core technologies for various end-user form factors, adopting an application that is in need of some T.L.C. and overseeing it's future development, creating a new application from scratch, helping with internal infrastructures (web sites, databases, application delivery methods, and the like).
For others, it may be contributing in different ways - perhaps via promotion, testing, documentation writing, artwork and visual excellence, bug-squashing, creating online content, and countless other ways that are likely only limited by one's imagination. And, perhaps, cash. And that brings us here. There are others who either don't have the time or desire to get directly involved with a particular project. Some just want to help out with a little cash in order to help facilitate future successes with something they are passionate about.
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| We <3 freedom & open source |
As you know, most free software people do what they do 'pro bono'. Out of love, passion, a feeling of obligation, to sharpen their skills, to be a part of a successful community - there are endless reasons just like there are endless ways one might want to contribute in a particular capacity. But we all have to eat, and many would prefer to work on free and open source software full-time. And, luckily, some people can and do because they have amazing sponsors that are willing to provide a living wage in order to keep good people working on free software. I'm looking at you, companies like Blue Systems, Suse, and Kolab.
These free software-producing individuals, projects, and organizations are spread far and wide, across many domains and geographical locations, and that creates a rather disparate array of information and informational outlets. Hence, one of the reasons for creating this list: To document all of the known ways one can financially contribute to KDE and more prominent KDE-related entities; be it an organization or individual person making a difference in free software and for the greater good of the KDE Community. The other reason being a friendly reminder that giving back in some way is important. This will not ever be an exhaustive list, but it hopefully will be a basic guide and, perhaps, inspire one to have that "oh yea!" moment and remember to consider supporting one or more worthwhile causes.
A practical way to go about showing your support would be to take the amount you are comfortable giving and divide it among those projects you wish to contribute to. Then set it up as an automatic monthly payment for those you are supporting. Of course some donation methods do this for you, such as Patreon, Flattr, and others. Other methods may require you to manually set this up, at least the first time, and simply make it a recurring donation. PayPal would fall into this category. I would also make the point that smaller monthly contributions are great as they help sustain people evenly throughout the year and be able to budget better. As I've said before, even a $1 equivalent / month makes a big difference, and at least help offset any costs they personally incur in doing what they love. It also helps to buy them the occasional beer, which is of course very much appreciated as well.
A few other notes here before I initiate the list:
- This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every way to support every potential option that exists in the KDE universe. If it ends up that way, great, but it surely never will.
- It will not include individual distributions featuring Plasma - It should go without saying that if you use Magia or Suse or Kubuntu or Nitrux or [insert Uber-cool distro here] and want to support them, and you definitely should, please do so! This point may change over time.
- It will not include blogs or other media-type outlets. Again, if you enjoy reading a particular author or watching a particular video channel who accepts donations, please support them! Most depend on donations to survive, even if it's not their main means to make a living. This point may change over time.
- Having said that, the list is open to ideas and suggestions, and in fact relies on them to really be of any use - so please contact us with recommendations!
- Listings will have the entity, along with a 1-2 sentence summary, payment methods accepted, and a link to the homepage.
- There may occasionally be exceptions to the above if needed or warranted.
- I will try to keep this list updated and relevant. Again, this will require community support.
- This page will be updated regularly based on suggestions and corrections from the community, which should be in the format described above. It is preferable that suggestions be made via the 'Contact Us' form button above and not in the post's comments.
- "Feel Good' stories about your contributions in the comments are welcome!
KDE Community Donation List
Without further ado, listed in relative hierarchy from KDE Ev and going from there.
KDE.org / KDE Ev
This is the mother ship and the governing body of the official KDE Community. If you donate to just one cause, this probably should be the one.
Ways to donate - multiple
Homepage: https://www.kde.org/index
openDesktop.org
"Free and OpenSource Software and Content". openDesktop hosts the KDE Store (store.kde.org) and is full of every type of content that one could imagine. Apps, wallpapers, plasmoids, themes, icons, it's all there and more. They distribute donations throughout the year based on your 1-time annual donation".
Ways to donate: PayPal
Homepage: https://www.opendesktop.org/
KDE Software Projects
Choqok
Ways to donate: PayPal
Homepage: http://choqok.gnufolks.org/
digiKam
Ways to donate: Multiple
Homepage: https://www.digikam.org
GCompris
"GCompris is a high quality educational software suite, including a large number of activities for children aged 2 to 10". Part of KDE Applications"
Ways to donate: PayPal
Homepage: http://gcompris.net
KBibTex
"A bibliography editor for KDE and is most often used in conjunction with Kile. KBibTeX's primary file format is BibTeX as known from LaTeX, but other formats such as RIS, PDF, or RTF can be imported and exported."
Ways to donate: Liberpay
Homepage: https://liberapay.com/thomasfischer/
KDE Partition Manager
"A utility program to help you manage the disk devices, partitions and file systems on your computer. It allows you to easily create, copy, move, delete, resize without losing data, backup and restore partitions. "
Ways to donate: Liberpay
Homepage: https://liberapay.com/stikonas/
Krita
- concept art
- texture and matte painters
- illustrations and comics
Ways to donate: Multiple
Homepage: https://krita.org
Tellico
"Tellico makes it easy to track your books, videos, music, even your wine and anything else. A simple and intuitive interface shows cover images, groupings, and any detail you want. Grab information from many popular Internet sites, including IMDB.com, Amazon.com, and most libraries."
Ways to donate: Multiple
Homepage: http://tellico-project.org/
Individuals Who Support Plasma's Development and Promotion
Nathaniel Graham
Kubuntu and KDE supporter, developer, and promotional team member looking to work full-time on his passion. Works in KDE Promotion, KDE Visual Design Group, and other important areas.
Ways to donate: Multiple
Homepage: https://pointieststick.wordpress.com
Scarlet G. Clark
"Appreciate my packaging/documentation/bug bashing/and everything else Kubuntu/KDE efforts? Please consider a donation. Any amount helps."
Ways to donate: PayPal
Homepage: http://scarlettgatelyclark.com
<Your Name or Project Here>
Ways to donate: PayPal
Homepage: http://scarlettgatelyclark.com
<Your Name or Project Here>
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