For BIRD Internet Routing Deamon, we solved financing issue by offering support contracts ( https://bird.network.cz/?support https://bird.network.cz/?support ).

For BIRD Internet Routing Deamon, we solved financing issue by offering support contracts ( https://bird.network.cz/?support https://bird.network.cz/?support ). If you develop free software that is mission-critical for some companies, then it makes sense for such companies to pay for support both to get developed features they need and to ensure there is someone to help them if something unexpected happens. Even in cases where no real support is needed and the contract is de-facto sponsoring, i guess for many corporations it may be more acceptable to bill it as support.