For the past two years, Aaron Wolf has been studying crowdfunding for free software – specifically, sustained funding rather than one-time donations. His conclusion is that a new model of funding is needed, which he plans to implement with Snowdrift.coop [1], a new project that should launch in early 2015.

A music teacher by trade, Wolf became interested in free software because of his growing disillusion with Apple. "I remember feeling outraged when I learned that Apple's iOS terms effectively censor GNU General Public License software," he says. "Volunteers worked to provide valuable free resources to the world, and then Apple could just block users' access in order to compel people to get only proprietary apps and see ads or pay." By 2012, he had discovered GNU/Linux, "and the welcoming community far surpassed my limitations." Feeling a need to repay the benefits he received from free software, he was soon writing documentation for the KXStudio music system and providing non-technical help for the task manager Task Coach.

At the same time, Wolf started to focus on the economics of free software. He proposed some of his developing ideas to Task Coach, but "the developers weren't sure how to implement them." Instead, they urged him to spend his time developing his ideas. His friend David Thomas also encouraged him, offering to help build the necessary infrastructure. Although initially reluctant, Wolf allowed himself to be convinced. He now devotes much of his time to the project.

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