ASF Initiatives are specific Targeted Sponsorships that provide additional financial support for Foundation governance operations, open source projects, and project communities.
The first to launch is the ASF Tooling Initiative (March 2025), created to meet the growing global demand for ASF software by hardening ubiquitous Apache projects that benefit the greater open source ecosystem.
The Tooling Initiative helps ASF’s open source project communities streamline development, automate repetitive tasks, reduce technical debt, and better collaborate. Additional Initiatives are in the planning stages including security capabilities that meet the EU's Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and US’s CISA recommendations. New products being developed under the Tooling Initiative are separate from the tools developed by ASF Infrastructure.
The Initiative requires an increase to the ASF's annual budget by $500K per year to maintain the Foundation's commitment to the highest standards of software development and community support. To meet these financial goals, the ASF has launched a new fundraising campaign to fund its Tooling Initiative. We thank Alpha-Omega for contributing funds to seed the initiative.
Organizations interested in supporting the ASF Tooling Initiative are invited to become Sponsors at the following levels:
Sponsors of the ASF Tooling Initiative enjoy the same benefits of ASF Targeted Sponsors at their corresponding level. Custom sponsorships exceeding the above thresholds are also available. As with all Targeted Sponsorships, the ASF requires a three-year commitment to ensure continuity of service.
To learn more and sponsor, email fundraising@apache.org.