GNOME Foundation

The GNOME Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support to the GNOME project. With a mission to create an elegant, efficient, and user-friendly computing platform composed entirely of free software, the Foundation plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of open source software.

About the GNOME Development Fund

The GNOME Development Fund has been launched to support the maintenance and long-term sustainability of the GNOME Project. The Fund will build upon and operationalize the crucial work funded in 2024 through a generous contract from the Sovereign Tech Fund of Germany, which provided approximately $1.2 million USD for improvements to the GNOME ecosystem. This funding allowed the GNOME Foundation to hire 16 developers from 6 different countries who have been hard at work for the past six months, with work continuing for another year.

To continue this type of development work for years to come, we are creating the Fund to foster innovation, maintain high standards for the GNOME desktop and tools, and continually build innovations. The Foundation commits to using at least 80% of the money collected through the Fund for investment into the core GNOME desktop, apps, platform, and development tools, through funding software development, design, usability research, and more. The Fund will be permanent and will run continuously, year-round. In addition to the support of individual backers of the Fund, the Foundation is seeking large contributions from foundations and government entities to support this vital work. Corporations can be backers, too!

How Projects are Selected

The Foundation is creating a review panel of respected volunteers from the GNOME developer community who will review applications for development work through the Fund. Proposals for project funding require the endorsement by a foundation member. Those who have proposals for projects will be able to submit their ideas twice per year for consideration by the committee, and all proposals will receive a response, whether funded or not. We expect to announce the review panel members and the first official call for proposals at GUADEC 2024 in Denver.

Our Commitment to Fiscal Transparency

All projects selected by the GNOME Development Fund will also be posted on the Foundation’s website, and in the Foundation’s annual report. Reports will be shared on Discourse, and feedback about the program is always encouraged Those working on funded projects will be expected to submit frequent written reports for the community.