Re: A guide to earning an income from a Free and Open Source project

[Rohit Joshi <rj.rohit@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Ikem, 

Thanks for pointng out to a very relevant information source. This is an important question: how do we create a financial model that can support atleast 1-2 core people full time for atleast 1-2 years in future? The article list the following ways:

* Passive Earnings
  -- Advertisement (Google ads, or promote an technology item/book/training program etc)
 
-- Donations using PayPal, Google Checkout, Checks, Bank order
* Active Earnings  
 -- Selling your software on CDs and USBs
 -- Selling related Merchandise 
 -- Selling custom software to private ventures (e.g. Enligthenment WM on Samsung phones)

 -- Selling consulting (great model for server side or web based applications such as database management or forum software)

I think we have tried many of these listed techniques atleast to some extent. DSL may have been successful but we, unofrtunately, have never been successful to generate enough money to even pay for our own hosting space :-). We probably need to brainstorm on more novel ways of supporting our team. 

 How about tapping in financial gifts/grants/support from government agencies and non-profit organizations around the world such as WHO, UNICEF, Universities and teaching institutions? We have a growing community around the world and custom-tailored SliTaz can appeal to many non-profit or non-govermmental organizations? 

In US, another good way of getting a substantial amount of donations is to get registered as 501(c)(3) charitable organization so that donations are tax-deductible (e.g. http://www.embraceglobal.org/main/involve?section=donate) . Not sure if there is something equivalent of 501(c)(3) in Europe?

Rohit

On Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 10:54 AM, Ikem Krueger <ikem.krueger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I've found this guide here.* Maybe it's interesting for you.

*http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/income-guide/

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