The Write for DOnations program brings together two initiatives: building reference content to help developers, and supporting tech-focused charities and nonprofits.

Authors who contribute to our growing collection of tutorials on open-source software deployment, configuration, and development will also have the opportunity to give back to a growing list of tech-focused nonprofits. Our goals are to enable authors to give back to the DigitalOcean and open-source communities, and to strengthen these communities by supporting the work of charities, nonprofits, and activists.

FAQ

How is Write for DOnations different from Write for DigitalOcean?

The difference is the name of the program, the increase in typical payout amounts, and the addition of a charitable donation to the payout for an article. This change applies to all new and existing community authors.

The editorial process for Write for DOnations will remain the same: an initial submission, followed by a round of collaboration and editorial review, and a final publication.

Authors will be paid upon publication of their work, just as in the Write for DigitalOcean program. Write for DOnations additionally matches that payout in the form of a contribution from DigitalOcean to tech-focused nonprofits chosen from our list of funds.

What is the payout structure for Write for DOnations?

The typical payout for community authors in the Write for DOnations program is $300 for typical tutorial content. Write for DOnations additionally matches this payout in the form of a contribution from DigitalOcean to the author's choice of tech-focused nonprofits from our list of funds.

Authors can receive their payout via PayPal or in DigitalOcean credit, and DigitalOcean will make donations using Bright Funds.

Which charities and nonprofits will my writing support?

For the beta launch of Write for DOnations, we've curated four funds, which are collections of nonprofits with similar missions. You can view the funds and nonprofits on the Editorial team's Bright Funds profile, but here is the full list:

• Open Source, which includes the Free Software Foundation, Open Source Initiative, Apache Software Foundation, FreeBSD Foundation, and Software in the Public Interest.

• Diversity in Tech, which includes Open Sourcing Mental Illness, Girls Who Code, Out In Tech, Techbridge Girls, Society of Women Engineers, Project Include, and /dev/color.

• Open Internet/Free Speech, which includes the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Wikimedia Foundation, Creative Commons, Code Labs for America, Owasp Foundation, Internet Archive,
  and Free Press.

• Tech Education, which includes IEEE, Code.org, Techsoup Global, NPower, and Computer History Museum.

These options do not necessarily reflect the program’s final list.

Can I choose the charity or nonprofit that will receive the matching payout?

Authors can choose to donate to one of the four funds on the Editorial team's Bright Funds profile, which splits the donation equally among the nonprofits in it. They can alternatively choose to donate the full amount to one specific nonprofit from within those funds.

At this time, it is not possible for authors to select a charity or nonprofit that is not on our list, but we hope to expand the program in the future to include this capability.

Will my donation be tax-deductible?

Because DigitalOcean will be processing the donation through Bright Funds, it won’t be possible for you to claim it as a charitable deduction on your tax return.

How long will the Write for DOnations program last?

Right now, we are in a beta phase of the program. We anticipate that this will last for several months.

Should we decide to end the Write for DOnations program, we will provide advance notice to all participating authors. This notice will include information on when payout amounts will no longer be matched by charitable donations.

I am already a community author. How do I participate in Write for DOnations?

Existing community authors are automatically included in Write for DOnations. The new payouts apply to existing and new authors alike.

I am a first-time author. Can I make updates to a DigitalOcean tutorial?

At this time, we ask all first-time authors to first write an original tutorial in order to gain a better understanding of our style and technical requirements.

Can I translate a DigitalOcean tutorial?

At this time, we are not accepting translations for publication. You may publish a translation of your own, using the guidelines described in the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommericial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

I have questions and/or thoughts about the Write for DOnations program. Where can I share them?

There are two ways to share thoughts or questions about the program. The first is to write to us directly at writefordonations@digitalocean.com. Though we may not be able to reply to each email, we will read all of them and use your feedback to guide our future work. If you have a question that you think may help others, please feel free to leave it in the comments section below.