Post by Florian Forster

I recently received an amazing email from Marc Würth at ORCA Services AG, who informed me that ORCA donates 50 CHF to an open-source project selected by their team each month. They chose to donate this month's contribution to me as a maintainer of collectd. I was very humbled and honored by this recognition! However, we don't have a legal entity that runs collectd, so contributing to collectd's operational costs is not easily possible. I suggested that ORCA donate the 50 CHF to digitalcourage, an organization that has been fighting for data protection and digital civil rights for many years. This gesture got me thinking: what *is* the most effective way for companies to support the open-source ecosystem? My initial thought was unbureaucratic open-source contribution policies. At GitLab, we have a very liberal policy, yet even here, contributions are often complicated by Contributor License Agreements (CLAs) that can only be signed after legal team approval. But the issue goes deeper. While contributions are great, successful open-source projects don't typically lack code—they lack *maintainers*. These are the people who manage releases, triage issues, and ensure the long-term health of a project. Companies can make a huge impact by recognizing and rewarding this critical work. What if open-source maintainership was a valid metric in performance reviews, a way for engineers to demonstrate that they are influencing the industry? This could have a profound positive effect on the open-source ecosystem as a whole. I'd love to hear your thoughts. What do you think is the best way for companies to support the people behind open-source projects? Thank you again, ORCA Services, for your support and for leading by example.