I know these contracts exist, and honestly, I don’t get why companies would want to limit their employees’ growth. But I get that some people have restrictions.

That said, applying to better jobs and negotiating better conditions is never forbidden. Freelancing full-time? No contract can stop you from that. Side projects? As long as you’re not stealing company data, it should be fair game.

Good point, though—this is definitely a topic worth covering in the course! 😉

Great to hear! I hope you like it :).

Yes, that’s a great point! After extensive discussions with both maintainers and companies interested in Open Pledge, we found an optimal solution: the maintainer or project owner connects their project to Open Pledge and flags specific issues as eligible for pledging. This way, contributors know which tasks are open for funding. Once a donation is made, it cannot be canceled, providing stability and commitment to the contributor—unless it has an expiration date, which is clearly displayed upfront for transparency.

I hope that makes sense :)

However if you see any other possible issues please let me know!

Open Collective also supports open-source projects, but Open Pledge has a more granular, results-based approach. With GitHub API integration, Open Pledge can automatically detect merged pull requests, which enables funds to be distributed based on specific contributions rather than general funding. This system encourages and rewards ongoing, measurable contributions, making it easier for pledgers to see direct results and for contributors to receive fair compensation tied to their work.

Good question! While similar to Patreon in supporting creators, Open Pledge has a unique integration with the GitHub API. This allows it to automatically track when contributions (like pull requests) are successfully merged, triggering the release of funds. This setup ensures that contributors are rewarded directly for impactful work, streamlining support based on tangible progress in the project.