Digital Defiance has reached a crossroads. While our commitment to producing open-source software remains unwavering, sustaining the organization in its current form has become untenable.
Despite the momentum behind flagship projects like BrightChain and Warp 12, we have not yet secured the external funding needed to cover our operational baseline. It costs roughly $1,000 annually just to keep the organizational lights on—a burden that, amidst my own ongoing health and financial challenges, I can no longer personally shoulder.
To prevent insolvency, all cost-incurring operations—down to basic services like GitHub LFS—are being spun down immediately. This effectively places Digital Defiance into suspended animation. I will make every effort to maintain our federal and state compliance to keep the entity alive, but our formal operations are entering a period of hibernation. Without the intervention of an angel donor, we must face the reality that formal dissolution may eventually be necessary.
That being said, Digital Defiance has always been a spirit first, and a business entity second. The engineering will not stop. Development, mentorship, and our core activities will continue independently, self-funded by the passionate individuals driving them.
As your President, I am deeply sorry that I haven’t been able to sustain our organizational growth. I had, and still have, big dreams for this guild, but navigating cancer in a volatile economy has demanded more bandwidth than I have to give.
Things may yet change. If you know of any funding opportunities, or if there is someone in our community with the bandwidth and aspiration to step up and lead Digital Defiance into its next chapter, please reach out.
The Future of Digital Defiance: A Crossroads
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Posted: July 7, 2026 by Jessica Mulein
Digital Defiance has reached a crossroads. While our commitment to producing open-source software remains unwavering, sustaining the organization in its current form has become untenable.
Despite the momentum behind flagship projects like BrightChain and Warp 12, we have not yet secured the external funding needed to cover our operational baseline. It costs roughly $1,000 annually just to keep the organizational lights on—a burden that, amidst my own ongoing health and financial challenges, I can no longer personally shoulder.
To prevent insolvency, all cost-incurring operations—down to basic services like GitHub LFS—are being spun down immediately. This effectively places Digital Defiance into suspended animation. I will make every effort to maintain our federal and state compliance to keep the entity alive, but our formal operations are entering a period of hibernation. Without the intervention of an angel donor, we must face the reality that formal dissolution may eventually be necessary.
That being said, Digital Defiance has always been a spirit first, and a business entity second. The engineering will not stop. Development, mentorship, and our core activities will continue independently, self-funded by the passionate individuals driving them.
As your President, I am deeply sorry that I haven’t been able to sustain our organizational growth. I had, and still have, big dreams for this guild, but navigating cancer in a volatile economy has demanded more bandwidth than I have to give.
Things may yet change. If you know of any funding opportunities, or if there is someone in our community with the bandwidth and aspiration to step up and lead Digital Defiance into its next chapter, please reach out.
Jessica Mulein
President
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Category: Announcements, Blog, Digital Defiance, Official Guild Matters