on Toshareproject.it - curated by Bruce Sterling
*Well, it’s easy come, easy go in cryptoland.
https://medium.com/processing-foundation/processing-foundation-funding-update-94cddb25a3d9
The Processing Foundation supports artists, students, and educators through its free and open-source software and public programming driven by the needs of the open-source software communities we serve. We are currently in the process of restructuring and reframing how we work and serve our community members.
As of the end of 2021, Processing Foundation received approximately $10 million in donations from our generous community of artists and technologists to our annual fundraising that celebrated the 20th anniversary of Processing. The Processing Foundation team wants to express their deepest gratitude to all of the donors for supporting our work.
The majority of the donations in 2021 came from artists donating cryptocurrency to the Processing Foundation. Large donations were directed from Erick Calderon, Tyler Hobbs, Casey Reas, Michael Connolly, TAKAWO Shunsuke, Joshua Davis, Shvembldr, Aluan Wang, Monica Rizzolli, Matt DesLauriers, Joonas Toivenen, Jason Ting, and Lia. Donations were also made in other ways from Jared Tarbell, Dmitri Cherniak, Frederik Vanhoutte, and other anonymous donors. Many artists contributed to the Processing 20th Anniversary fundraiser through Hic et Nunc in August 2021, making it our most successful fundraiser to date. We also received many generous donations during our annual fundraiser in December. These individuals have allowed the Foundation’s work to become sustainable for the first time, and have enabled all of the changes we’re announcing through this letter. We’re extremely grateful now and forever to everyone who donated in 2021.
In March 2022, because of concerns over environmental impact, the Processing Foundation Board decided to suspend new Ethereum donations, but to continue to accept donations via Tezos, a blockchain that is more environmentally friendly. Our current policy is to convert all cryptocurrency donations to USD.
The Foundation is currently engaged in a strategic planning process, working with our directors, advisors, team, and external partners and collaborators to create a long-term, sustainable plan to distribute the funding to support the expansive community of artists, students, and educators that has grown over the past 20 years. Priority areas include expanding our annual fellowship granting program, ensuring the continued stewardship and development of software projects and communities, creating more opportunities for community members to take on funded leadership roles in these projects, and better supporting the Foundation staff through salary and benefits….