GitHub has announced an extension of its Sponsors program. The expansion will enable companies to join the program and sponsor open source developers.

GitHub announced its Sponsors program last year to provide a way for people to show their support financially for software projects and open source developers. 

Under the scheme, developers can put a “Sponsor me” button on their GitHub repositories, and can view who sponsors them, the chosen sponsorship tier, and how long they've sponsored the developer.

GitHub says the program has already seen millions of dollars flow to open source maintainers and projects, with some developers already making six figures using GitHub Sponsors, and even more considering making their open source work as their full-time job.

The new move provides a way for companies to get involved. GitHub says that for many businesses, open source provides critical components for their software and services, and they would like to support the maintainers of those projects so they can continue to thrive. What's apparently stopped this happening already is that setting up individual procurement agreements can be a complex task for both the company and the recipient of the funds.

The extension to GitHub Sponsors to add companies is designed to make this simpler.

"Starting today, investing in open source is as easy as just adding it to your GitHub bill! Sponsors supports payment via credit card or PayPal, and you can join the waitlist to get updates about other payment options coming soon."

The list of companies who have already signed up includes American Express, AWS, Daimler, Stripe, New Relic, Indeed, Microsoft, Substack, Major League Hacking, Indent, Notion, and Cognitect. The announcement was made at GitHub Universe 2020. 

More Information

GitHub Sponsors

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