
Anonymous donor donates $500k to FreeBSD Foundation - tachion
https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/blog/freebsd-foundation-announces-new-uranium-level-donation/
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hackuser
I've always thought that often the best way to give is anonymously and I
understand I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth, but in this case the 'horse'
analogy might be appropriate. This isn't a criticism of the FreeBSD
Foundation; I'm just raising a question about this gift and similar gifts for
other FOSS projects:

FOSS projects thrive on transparency; are such large anonymous gifts good for
them? Think of a similar anonymous gift to a politician - in that case, humble
anonymity isn't a good thing (it's a very imperfect analogy; I'm just trying
to relate the issue to something familiar). I assume, maybe incorrectly, that
the FreeBSD foundation knows who the donor is; should the wider community know
who wields such influence? Will the donor want something in return, now or
later? Is it a corporation or corporate leader who may want FreeBSD's
cooperation later, perhaps to stay out of or to support a certain market
segment or technology? A U.S. government entity such as In-Q-Tel, or an entity
controlled by a foreign government?

FreeBSD and the donor may both say, and even mean, that there are no strings
attached, but it's similar to a parent saying they won't favor their own
children; when that donor calls with a request, it is very hard to say no.

Likely the donor is being very generous and should be thanked, not questioned.
And of course, if the FreeBSD Foundation said they were turning down the gift
for the reasons above, many would question that decision too.

~~~
koolba
What favor could they ask for?

On one extreme it's "add the secret backdoor" (haha. As if!). On the extreme,
it's "add a device driver for foo".

Are you worried about the former? Are you concerned about the latter?

~~~
dbcurtis
I'll write that device driver and slap a BSD license on it for $250k. Problem
solved.

Kidding asside, I'm just pointing out that there are cheaper and easier ways
to get device drivers into BSD.

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tachion
So, they/she/he did his job, but have you? ;) FreeBSD needs your support[0],
every donor counts, no matter what's the amount you can spare!

[0]
[https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/donate/](https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/donate/)

~~~
protomyth
For tax purposes they need to show a large number of people donating, so for
their nonprofit status a lot of $5 donations would be a very good thing.

~~~
eganist
Charity novice here. Specifically why does the quantity of people matter? i.e.
what's the tax-specific impact which results e.g from 100,000 people making $5
donations v. one person making a $500,000 donation?

~~~
protomyth
A 501(c)(3) in the US needs to prove "Public Support". A 100,000 people making
a $5 donation shows public support, whereas 1 person making a $500,000 makes
the IRS think its a trade group or something else. 501(c)(3) is pretty
complicated, but its not the only non-profit type.

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readhn
I often give money anonymously. I dont expect anything back.

Its just extra zeroes for some people. If you have $5,000,000 then giving
$5000 to some worthy cause is not a big deal at all. Its like going to
Starbucks... chump change.

if you have $500,000,000 then $500,000 becomes chump change.

Someone who made lots of money in the recent tech bubble could easily swing
this much $ with no strings attached.

