While Gittip does not require you to have or meet goals to receive funding, some are defining their dreams and expectations within Gittip and finding success. Recently, the Drupal community banded together to help Alex Pott meet a fundraising goal.
Beyond the legal limits, there aren’t any given rules for how to use Gittip: it is a tool. Gittip’s value as a resource is most often visible in direct correlation to the effort and enthusiasm poured into it. It was that energy that allowed Drupal to discover a successful formula for using Gittip: one extremely dedicated worker + a group of committed supporters + Gittip = a reward for a leap of faith.
Six months ago Alex Pott quit his job and began working full time in a volunteer capacity on Drupal 8. A month later he was invited by Drupal co- founder and lead developer Dries Buytaert to become one of Drupal 8’s co-maintainers as they gear up for release. He joined Dries along with the other Drupal 8 core committers Angie Byron (webchick), Nathaniel Catchpole (catch), and Jennifer Hodgdon.
Alex has a history working in Drupal, but he only “met” Gittip a little over a month ago. It seems that the rally to help one of their maintainers meet a goal boosted the entire community. Though the Drupal Gittip community was experiencing steady but modest growth, it is now almost four times larger than it was when Alex announced his Gittip goal.
In just three to four weeks Alex Pott set and met a goal using Gittip with the help of Drupal supporters. Even investing all the time and money he could, Alex calculated he would need to cover $475 a week. With a little encouragement from others he decided to try Gittip as a means to raise what he needed. Through the following four weeks Drupal supporters not only flocked to Gittip to contribute to Alex Pott’s financial goal, but they spread the word far and wide. The result: Goal Reached. Alex has taken to twitter to thank all the donors and supporters, as well as the Gittip team.
Alex, we thank you. You took a leap of faith with Gittip and with the help of the entire Drupal community made us all a success.
In the wake of hitting $475 weekly on Gittip, Alex has expressed the desire to support another Drupal developer with a funding goal. Keep the momentum going!
Wow just reached my @gittip goal of $475! Let’s see if we can get @patrickd_drupal his $200 goal because simplytest.me is awesome!
— Alex Pott (@alexpott)