I would bet that at least 90% of Lemmy could afford a recurring donation of $1 to $3 per month. If 90% of 50,000 users donated $1 per month, they could bring in $45,000 per year. Currently, the 1172 donators are donating even more than that, which pays for 1 full time developer. If we picked up the slack, they could afford two, effectively doubling the dedicated work output.

It’s that simple. Either we band together and keep this system afloat, or we give our data to corporations so they can sell it and pay the bills that way. There isn’t really a third option.