OpenJS Foundation announces a new initiative that supports the security and sustainability of the JavaScript and web ecosystem.
SAN FRANCISCO – May 21, 2024 – OpenJS Foundation has launched a new Ecosystem Sustainability Program (ESP) today to support the security and sustainability of the JavaScript and web ecosystem by generating a new revenue stream to underwrite the myriad of activities required to sustain our projects.
ESP partners provide commercial services for security fixes to OpenJS-hosted projects that are unsupported because they are archived, end-of-life, or are older versions of current projects. Working in partnership with the Foundation and our participating projects, ESP partners would offer a revenue share based on enterprise sales.
The root cause of many security issues is open source sustainability. Maintenance is largely unfunded. Only 52% of OpenJS contributors are affiliated with an organization. Despite industry demands, 60% of maintainers are still unpaid volunteers which can lead to maintainer burnout, security issues and more.
“We're not just fostering innovation at OpenJS, we're investing in the longevity of our shared digital ecosystem,” said Robin Bender Ginn, Executive Director, OpenJS Foundation. “Together with our partners, we'll create a culture of open source sustainability that ensures the resilience of our communities and projects for the future.”
The ESP would help project maintainers continue to provide public support to any version of their software, including versions covered by an ESP partner, without constraint.
As the first ESP provider, HeroDevs is contributing a 15% revenue share to all OpenJS Foundation projects participating in the program. Additionally, HeroDevs will provide public notifications for any discovered CVEs.
HeroDevs joined the OpenJS Foundation in March, and has made quick work of supporting the program.
“We’re honored to be the first company to support the Ecosystem Sustainability Program for the OpenJS Foundation. Our mission is to keep end-of-life projects secure and supported,” said Joe Eames, Vice President of Partnerships at HeroDevs. “This program is the first step to ensure that maintainers in the OpenJS community are able to focus on the work they truly care about.”
The ESP is open to organizations that can provide credible technical support to our projects. Providers must meet the following requirements:
“Supporting this program is a great way to support key open source projects while providing long term support for older versions of the project that are no longer maintained,” said Tobie Langel, OpenJS Foundation board director and vice chair of the Cross Project Council. “We always would like to see more organizations running the latest and greatest versions of open source projects, but there are legitimate cases where that's not an option. With ESP, organizations that are stuck with unsupported versions can get commercial support and contribute to the project's health as a result. It’s a win-win!”
To find out more about this initiative please visit the Ecosystem Sustainability page, or reach out via the OpenJS Foundation contact form.
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The OpenJS Foundation is committed to supporting the healthy growth of the JavaScript ecosystem and web technologies by providing a neutral organization to host and sustain projects, as well as collaboratively fund activities for the benefit of the community at large. The OpenJS Foundation is made up of 35 open source JavaScript projects including Appium, Electron, Jest, jQuery, Node.js, and webpack and is supported by 26 corporate and end-user members, including GoDaddy, Google, IBM, Joyent, Microsoft, and the Sovereign Tech Fund. These members recognize the interconnected nature of the JavaScript ecosystem and the importance of providing a central home for projects which represent significant shared value.
Kylie Wagar-Dirks
OpenJS Foundation Communications