Adding perspective

A significant portion of funding for BerliOS in all these years has come from the German taxpayer, since FOKUS is not a private institution, but a public research facility. Moreover, it probably should be mentioned that fundraising in Germany is more difficult in the US. This does not only concern the willingness of sponsors to help: The amount of energy that is required in order to get something done is enormous (I myself work at a German university, so I have some first hand knowledge of that). Public servants in Germany are a particularly timid species. Putting myself in the shoes of those responsible for BerliOS, their rally for sponsor funds from all over the world is a sure sign of desperation: You only go down that way if you really, really, have to.