fidzu : cms

Drupal has long relied on organisations and individuals who contribute beyond their immediate needs. Yet that responsibility remains unevenly distributed. According to figures published by the Drupal Association in February 2025, just 219 of the 1,440 organisations active on Drupal.org accounted for 96% of recorded contributions in 2024. The challenge is not simply attracting more contributors, but making responsibility for Drupal's upkeep more widely shared.

Two proposals outlined by Drupal Association Interim CEO Tiffany Farriss on 28 October 2026 suggest how that might happen. A broader Drupal Certified programme could recognise makers, patrons and advocates, extending recognition beyond agencies. Alongside it, a dedicated maintainers fund could help organisations without development capacity financially support the people maintaining software they depend on.

Together, these proposals revisit Dries Buytaert's long-standing makers-and-takers argument. They also raise questions about what counts as a fair contribution. Financial support cannot automatically substitute for technical responsibility, and certification must recognise different capacities without favouring organisations that can afford to pay. How funding reaches maintainers, and how their work is valued, will matter as much as the proposed framework itself.

Neither proposal has been implemented. Their significance lies in an attempt to move from contribution as an expectation placed on a committed minority towards a responsibility shared across the ecosystem. Drupal will remain freely available, but sustaining that freedom requires continuing work. The real test is whether more beneficiaries can help support it without compromising the openness and independence that make Drupal worth maintaining.

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Allen Jason wrote and curated this issue of Editor's Pick.

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