Comment by polio

The more money we give, the more viable it becomes for maintenance to become their day job. It's very likely that more money here would've mitigated the burnout. Aside from just being able to quit their actual job and focus on their passion project, it's acknowledgement that the world finds this work valuable. In many cases, burnout comes from a lack of recognition, or the sense that you've done all this work and nobody really cares.