How to Support the Birdfont Project

Updated

You can support Birdfont in two ways described on the official site: make a one-time donation in USD, or sign up for a subscription to contribute a small amount each month. Both options are presented on the Support section of birdfont.org. According to the site, the income from the project is used to fix bugs and implement new features, with the stated aim of providing an excellent font editor for everyone.

Donation options on the Support page

The Support section lists a donation goal and a running total of recent contributions, alongside the ways to give.

  • One-time donation: A "Make a Donation" option lets you enter an amount in USD.
  • Monthly subscription: The site notes you can "signup for a subscription if you want to support the project with a small amount each month."

The page also displays a monthly goal (shown as a percentage) and a list of recent donations with dates and amounts, so you can see how close the project is to its target.

What the money is used for

Per the site, support income is directed toward:

  • Fixing bugs
  • Implementing new features

The stated goal is to keep Birdfont an excellent font editor for everyone. The project notes that many hours are put into development every month.

Why support matters for a project like this

Birdfont is described as a free font editor that lets you create vector graphics and export TTF, OTF, and SVG fonts, with good support for both monochrome and color font formats. It is developed by Johan Mattsson, written in Vala, and comprises around 124,000 lines of code. Ongoing work on a codebase of that size is what the donation and subscription income is meant to sustain.

Other ways to contribute

Beyond money, the site points to channels for reporting bugs and getting help, which also feed back into the project:

If you have made fonts with Birdfont, the site also invites you to submit your own work to the Fonts section, which showcases fonts made with the editor.

Quick reference

Support method How to do it Notes from the site
One-time donation Use the "Make a Donation" option on the Support page Amount entered in USD
Monthly subscription Sign up for a subscription Described as a small amount each month
Report bugs / get help Email, Mastodon, Twitter, Facebook, GitHub Listed under Contact, Bugs & Help
Share your work Submit fonts to the Fonts section For fonts made with Birdfont

The site does not state whether donations or subscriptions unlock any additional features, so treat them purely as ways to fund development rather than as paid tiers.