HeroDevs – Open Source Sustainability Fund
Funding Maintainers.
Backed by Experience.
At HeroDevs, we’ve spent years helping teams navigate the challenges of deprecated open source software. Through our Never-Ending Support (NES) products, we’ve worked with everyone from startups to Fortune 100 companies to keep legacy code secure, stable, and compliant—long after official support ends.
We’ve written patches for unmaintained codebases, tracked down vulnerabilities where no one else was looking, and kept critical systems running safely without rushed rewrites. This fund builds on that work, so maintainers can keep doing what they do best, with real backing behind them.
Our Criteria and Commitment
Our program criteria focuses on ecosystem hygiene and security to guide and support open-source best practices. We partner with teams to help them meet these standards and provide funding to further strengthen and sustain their impact in the open-source community.
Releases & Versioning
Use predictable, documented versioning (SemVer/PEP 440), announce new releases through all official channels, and clearly mark CVE-related fixes.
Communication & Transparency
Clearly state which versions are supported, deprecated, or EOL, and provide advance notice of changes with timelines appropriate to project size.
Documentation
Define deprecation policies, tag deprecated versions, specify support timelines, and indicate when versions will be entirely removed.
Support & Deprecation Handling
Provide clear adoption/removal timelines, backport critical fixes to LTS only, keep deprecations non-breaking, and surface warnings in changelogs and runtime.
Processes & Tiers
Maintain clear processes for reporting issues and security concerns, define support tiers (Current, LTS, EOL), and encourage migration or alternate support solutions when versions reach EOL.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to some of our most commonly asked questions.
Of course, if you can't find the answer you're looking for, feel free to contact us.
What is the purpose of this program?
We’ve started the Open Source Sustainability Fund with the idea that keeping open source healthy and sustainable is essential for the community’s success, from maintainer to user. The Fund provides support to open source software by not only encouraging the implementation of best practices, but also giving back to the community to fuel continual work on open source projects.
How do I qualify to apply?
- You are a maintainer of open-source projects under an OSI-approved license.
- Versions of your project are approaching or are already past official EOL.
- You’re ready to keep users secure, compliant, and CVE-free!
- Must be a developer tool.
How do I apply?
You can submit an application here.
What happens when I apply?
When you apply, a member of our team will reach out and let you know your application is received and under review. If approved, we will contact you to begin the process of criteria review and implementation of best practices.
What is the funding amount?
Grants range from $2,500 to $15,000.
What does the program require? What are the things I need to do to receive a grant?
The program has a set of criteria that outlines best practices for safe and effective ecosystem hygiene. Once accepted into the program, the project will receive a Best Practices Form, a self-service activity that allows maintainers to showcase practices already implemented, and receive guidance on how to make changes to improve their ecosystems to align with best practices.
Will I have support when completing the program activities?
Absolutely! HeroDevs is here to help you every step of the way. We want maintainers to be successful while they continue to provide their users with the software they need. We welcome any and all questions or requests for support throughout the program and beyond.
I'm excited to work on the future of my project, but what about versions that are no longer supported? Does the Fund do anything for those?
HeroDevs does offer other types of partnerships that focus solely on versions that have gone end-of-life. If you are interested in partnerships outside of the Fund, please contact us to learn more!
HeroDevs – Open Source Sustainability Fund
Funding Maintainers.
Backed by Experience.
At HeroDevs, we’ve spent years helping teams navigate the challenges of deprecated open source software. Through our Never-Ending Support (NES) products, we’ve worked with everyone from startups to Fortune 100 companies to keep legacy code secure, stable, and compliant—long after official support ends.
We’ve written patches for unmaintained codebases, tracked down vulnerabilities where no one else was looking, and kept critical systems running safely without rushed rewrites. This fund builds on that work, so maintainers can keep doing what they do best, with real backing behind them.
Our Criteria and Commitment
Our program criteria focuses on ecosystem hygiene and security to guide and support open-source best practices. We partner with teams to help them meet these standards and provide funding to further strengthen and sustain their impact in the open-source community.
Releases & Versioning
Use predictable, documented versioning (SemVer/PEP 440), announce new releases through all official channels, and clearly mark CVE-related fixes.
Communication & Transparency
Clearly state which versions are supported, deprecated, or EOL, and provide advance notice of changes with timelines appropriate to project size.
Documentation
Define deprecation policies, tag deprecated versions, specify support timelines, and indicate when versions will be entirely removed.
Support & Deprecation Handling
Provide clear adoption/removal timelines, backport critical fixes to LTS only, keep deprecations non-breaking, and surface warnings in changelogs and runtime.
Processes & Tiers
Maintain clear processes for reporting issues and security concerns, define support tiers (Current, LTS, EOL), and encourage migration or alternate support solutions when versions reach EOL.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to some of our most commonly asked questions.
Of course, if you can't find the answer you're looking for, feel free to contact us.
What is the purpose of this program?
We’ve started the Open Source Sustainability Fund with the idea that keeping open source healthy and sustainable is essential for the community’s success, from maintainer to user. The Fund provides support to open source software by not only encouraging the implementation of best practices, but also giving back to the community to fuel continual work on open source projects.
How do I qualify to apply?
How do I apply?
You can submit an application here.
What happens when I apply?
When you apply, a member of our team will reach out and let you know your application is received and under review. If approved, we will contact you to begin the process of criteria review and implementation of best practices.
What is the funding amount?
Grants range from $2,500 to $15,000.
What does the program require? What are the things I need to do to receive a grant?
The program has a set of criteria that outlines best practices for safe and effective ecosystem hygiene. Once accepted into the program, the project will receive a Best Practices Form, a self-service activity that allows maintainers to showcase practices already implemented, and receive guidance on how to make changes to improve their ecosystems to align with best practices.
Will I have support when completing the program activities?
Absolutely! HeroDevs is here to help you every step of the way. We want maintainers to be successful while they continue to provide their users with the software they need. We welcome any and all questions or requests for support throughout the program and beyond.
I'm excited to work on the future of my project, but what about versions that are no longer supported? Does the Fund do anything for those?
HeroDevs does offer other types of partnerships that focus solely on versions that have gone end-of-life. If you are interested in partnerships outside of the Fund, please contact us to learn more!