GitHub has launched the beta version of GitHub Sponsors, a platform designed to financially support open source developers by allowing users to sponsor them directly through their GitHub profiles. To kickstart this initiative, GitHub is offering a Sponsors Matching Fund, which matches contributions up to $5,000 during a developer's first year in the program, while charging zero platform fees and covering payment processing fees for the first 12 months. This tool supports global payouts and welcomes all types of contributions, not just code, thus broadening opportunities for individuals involved in open source projects. Developers can be sponsored seamlessly as part of the GitHub workflow, and open source projects can display their funding models via a "Sponsor" button on their repository, using a flexible YAML format to list various funding options. GitHub aims to expand participation in open source development and is open to community feedback, with an advisory panel set up to address operational challenges faced by open source teams.