I agree. I would love to see more things like Summer of Code or grants towards open-source software. Is there a sustainable way to fund open-source work apart from corporate benefactors who "own" the software?

I would prefer crowd funding because with corporate sponsorships often come subtle obligations for corporate friendly adaptations and sometimes weird expectations.

https://www.business.com/articles/john-rampton-open-source-s...

While there is some truth to it and describes what you should be careful about, it fundamentally doesn't understand the different motivations behind open source.

Creators know that individual users can also create horrible expectations not restricted to software development, but you aren't suddenly half dependent on a company in which there is probably one guy calling the shots about your project and maybe it is better not to marry him.

That’d be awesome! Should note that a lot of popular software is (at least in part) paid for by the large companies. For example, Google probably has several engineers working on chromium. Facebook has several working on React and React Native. Apple has several working on Swift. Automattic (where I work), has several working on WordPress.

I said essentially the same thing 10 days ago and this is what Walter Bright, creator of D, said: "There are a number of generous corporations and individuals helping us out in various ways, including cash contributions to the D Foundation."

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25040397

How much would it cost to fund, say, all Github projects with 1000 stars or more?

And the news outlets that give them lip service.