Monero the crypto currency does this. I've seen them fund every thing from Ph.D. Research and paper writing, to application development and bug fixing. It seems

Monero the crypto currency does this. I've seen them fund every thing from Ph.D. Research and paper writing, to application development and bug fixing. It seems to work well for those who really believe in and use a project. I'm surprised more people don't try this model. Release the core code and let users vote and fund which bugs to fix and which features to add. I find it an interesting and refreshing change from the free for all of whiny depressing masses who demand all sorts of crazy, hard work from OS developers without paying dime one for it. Maybe it will be the model of the future, who knows!