Corporations could donate in a way that benefits them. For example, Intel contributes a lot of code to the Linux kernel. Presumably they are at least partially contributing stuff that makes it run better on their chips. But lots of people run Linux on Intel chips. And while working on stuff that benefits Intel, their engineers are probably going to do other ancillary tasks that could be helpful. So it seems like a win-win.
It should be socially acceptable for open source programs to offer the deal: we’ll consider patches from your engineers, but in exchange you have to chip in enough to support one of ours (to keep working on stuff we find interesting), and a little bit more (need some engineer-hours to review your patches).
It sounds quite biased in favor of the project at first, but if the project is popular, the company could get quite a bit out of it.
Is it a bad thing if corporations donate towards features that benefit them? That is a signal to the developers to allocate their energy towards useful ends.
It should be socially acceptable for open source programs to offer the deal: we’ll consider patches from your engineers, but in exchange you have to chip in enough to support one of ours (to keep working on stuff we find interesting), and a little bit more (need some engineer-hours to review your patches).
It sounds quite biased in favor of the project at first, but if the project is popular, the company could get quite a bit out of it.