"Server" in this context isn't just the front-end website (which is on Fastly), it include things like automatic builds (https://curl.se/dev/builds.html https:/

"Server" in this context isn't just the front-end website (which is on Fastly), it include things like automatic builds (https://curl.se/dev/builds.html https://curl.se/dev/builds.html) and the mailing list, which would probably cost a bit of money (even if it's offloaded to dedicated services). $1,000 is actually a decent amount if you include the internal infrastructure that makes curl possible.