4 ms·

Here's an idea: provide a donations bucket that gives a guarantee that they'll be earmarked exclusively for Firefox development. Nothing off the top for CEO sal

Here's an idea: provide a donations bucket that gives a guarantee that they'll be earmarked exclusively for Firefox development. Nothing off the top for CEO salaries, nothing siphoned off for random side projects—this bucket should be guaranteed to pay the salaries of Firefox developers. It might not make millions, but I'd donate in a heartbeat if I knew that my money would actually go to Firefox and not to one of the dozens of random side quests that Mozilla keeps picking up.

yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
> provide a donations bucket that gives a guarantee that they'll be earmarked exclusively for Firefox development I've head that there are tax problems with that. So maybe there needs to be a paid "Firefox Pro" or whatever?
- lolinder 3y ago
  That'd work just as well for me. I just want a way to give Mozilla a clear signal that I pay them for Firefox, not for Pocket or a VPN or for whatever the flavor of the month is for the nonprofit. As is, there is no way for me to send them that signal, and I'm not prepared to endorse any of the non-Firefox projects Mozilla's put out.
- wkat4242 3y ago
  The tax problems were because of the Google deal, not the donations.
pseudalopex 3y ago
Money is fungible. How should they guarantee your donation paid Firefox developers only?
- lolinder 3y ago
  You're correct, and this is a general problem with earmarking—there's nothing to stop the organization from just shifting unrestricted funds out of that bucket to compensate. I still would donate in this scenario, because the main point is that I want to be explicit about which activities Mozilla is engaging in that I find valuable. Donating to Mozilla right now would send the wrong message.
johnnyanmac 3y ago
>It might not make millions I mean, isn't that the problem? They made 500m this quarter so a <1m donation box won't shift things. Hell, it may not even pay for more than a few devs given the compensation I've seen. There simply isn't enough goodwill to maintain the living of even a single person operation without some sort of incentive (which ceases to be a "donation", but a subscription with a fancy coat).

yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago

> provide a donations bucket that gives a guarantee that they'll be earmarked exclusively for Firefox development I've head that there are tax problems with that. So maybe there needs to be a paid "Firefox Pro" or whatever?

lolinder 3y ago
That'd work just as well for me. I just want a way to give Mozilla a clear signal that I pay them for Firefox, not for Pocket or a VPN or for whatever the flavor of the month is for the nonprofit. As is, there is no way for me to send them that signal, and I'm not prepared to endorse any of the non-Firefox projects Mozilla's put out.
wkat4242 3y ago
The tax problems were because of the Google deal, not the donations.

pseudalopex 3y ago

Money is fungible. How should they guarantee your donation paid Firefox developers only?

lolinder 3y ago
You're correct, and this is a general problem with earmarking—there's nothing to stop the organization from just shifting unrestricted funds out of that bucket to compensate. I still would donate in this scenario, because the main point is that I want to be explicit about which activities Mozilla is engaging in that I find valuable. Donating to Mozilla right now would send the wrong message.

johnnyanmac 3y ago

>It might not make millions I mean, isn't that the problem? They made 500m this quarter so a <1m donation box won't shift things. Hell, it may not even pay for more than a few devs given the compensation I've seen. There simply isn't enough goodwill to maintain the living of even a single person operation without some sort of incentive (which ceases to be a "donation", but a subscription with a fancy coat).