Exploring the effectiveness of open-source donation platform: An empirical study on Opencollective

Exploring the effectiveness of open-source donation platform: An empirical study on Opencollective | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL Journal of Software: Evolution and Process This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 22 January 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Exploring the effectiveness of open-source donation platform: An empirical study on Opencollective Authors : Shuoxiao Zhang 0009-0004-3023-5027 , Enyi Tang [email protected] , Xinyu Gao , Zhekai Zhang , Yixiao Shan , Haofeng Zhang , Ziyang He , Jianhua Zhao , and Xuandong Li Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.173752034.42841141/v1 Published Journal of Software: Evolution and Process Version of record Peer review timeline 766 views 287 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract In recent years, with the development of the open-source community, various open-source donation platforms have emerged. These platforms effectively alleviate the financial pressures faced by open-source projects through diversified funding sources and flexible donation methods. As one of the most representative open-source donation platforms, Opencollective has garnered widespread attention from both the open-source community and academia. Although Opencollective claims to provide more funding opportunities for open-source projects, the extent to which it effectively addresses the financial challenges faced by these projects remains unclear. While there have been studies on the effectiveness of traditional donation models, research on the effectiveness of emerging donation platforms such as Opencollective is still limited. Given that a large number of open-source projects are urgently seeking donations, understanding the effectiveness of donations through Opencollective is crucial for these projects. To address this gap, we have made an early step in this direction. This paper conducts a comprehensive study on the effectiveness of donations through the Opencollective, employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis and identifies the following key findings: (1) Opencollective attracts a diverse group of participants, including individual donors, sponsors, contributors, and project managers, with individual donors constituting the largest group. Most donations are concentrated in the range of $5 to $10, indicating that the platform largely relies on small but frequent donations from individuals. (2) Only about 26.61% of open-source projects receive donations through Opencollective, with approximately 64.38% of these projects receiving a total donation amount of less than $50,000. The likelihood of receiving donations increases with project scale, maturity and the number of stars. Among projects that have received donations, larger projects with stronger social media promotion, greater attention and more issues are more likely to receive additional donations. (3) The positive impact of donations on project development and spend activities is significant only in the short term, with no notable long-term effects. In contrast, donations do not have a significant short-term impact on community engagement. Although the long-term effect is slightly positive, it is not statistically significant. (4) The main shortcomings of Opencollective include insufficient project management and collaboration features, inadequate user experience and interface design, high transaction fees, and a lack of transparency in fund allocation and usage. Our findings provide significant theoretical support and practical recommendations for the effectiveness of emerging donation platforms and the sustainable development of open-source projects. Supplementary Material File (exploring the effectiveness of open-source donation platform an empirical study on opencollective.pdf) Download 11.34 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 22 January 2025 Peer review timeline Published Journal of Software: Evolution and Process Version of Record 25 Jun 2025 Published Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Collection Journal of Software: Evolution and Process Keywords donation effectiveness open source opencollective Authors Affiliations Shuoxiao Zhang 0009-0004-3023-5027 State Key Laboratory of Novel Software Technology View all articles by this author Enyi Tang [email protected] State Key Laboratory of Novel Software Technology View all articles by this author Xinyu Gao State Key Laboratory of Novel Software Technology View all articles by this author Zhekai Zhang State Key Laboratory of Novel Software Technology View all articles by this author Yixiao Shan State Key Laboratory of Novel Software Technology View all articles by this author Haofeng Zhang State Key Laboratory of Novel Software Technology View all articles by this author Ziyang He State Key Laboratory of Novel Software Technology View all articles by this author Jianhua Zhao State Key Laboratory of Novel Software Technology View all articles by this author Xuandong Li State Key Laboratory of Novel Software Technology View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 766 views 287 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Shuoxiao Zhang, Enyi Tang, Xinyu Gao, et al. Exploring the effectiveness of open-source donation platform: An empirical study on Opencollective. Authorea . 22 January 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.173752034.42841141/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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