LogInThe team aims to find new corporate donors and encourage more small donations.
Blender Foundation has published its annual report for the fiscal year 2024, highlighting some of its successes and major releases, outlining which recently added Blender tools it considers to be the most noteworthy, and disclosing that during this period, ongoing growth and rising expenses led the organization to operate at a loss.
In case you missed it, in late 2024, Blender launched its "Join the 2%" campaign, aimed at increasing the number of smaller donations to support the software's development and maintain its core feature – being free-to-use. While those small donations did grow significantly, accounting for 20% of Blender's income in FY 2024 versus 10% in 2023 (€618,000 vs. €263,000), the team decided to book the campaign's results in the next fiscal year, causing FY 2024 income to fall short of expenses.
Blender attributes operating at a loss to the company's growth, which requires hiring more developers and, in turn, increases spending on salaries. According to the report, in 2023, the organization spent €2.079 million on salaries and grants while reporting an income of €2.553 million, while in 2024, salary spending rose to €2.713 million with an income of €3.106 million. The board further expressed concern that the financial reserves built up in past years remain below acceptable levels.
Nevertheless, the team reaffirms its commitment to its main mission – in other words, there is no indication that operating at a loss in 2024 would lead them to make Blender non-free – and plans to address the issue by finding new corporate donors, encouraging more small donations through better communication, and maintaining a buffer of three months' cash flow just in case.
You can check out the full report here and support Blender's development by donating over here. Don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.