The Perl Foundation
The Perl & Raku Foundation (Yet Another Society) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that stewards the Perl and Raku programming languages, CPAN, and related trademarks and licenses, funding core language development through corporate sponsorships, individual donations, and grants to serve the global developer community.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersWalnut, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Perl Foundation does
The Perl & Raku Foundation (TPRF), legally Yet Another Society, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit incorporated in Michigan in 2000 and headquartered in Covina, California. It is dedicated to the advancement of the Perl and Raku programming languages through open discussion, collaboration, design, and code. The foundation's core technology stewardship covers the Perl 5 language, the Raku language (formerly Perl 6, rebranded in 2020), the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN) containing over 25,000 community-contributed modules, and the Artistic License 1.0 and 2.0 under which Perl and Raku are distributed. It also holds the registered trademarks for Perl, Raku, the Powered by Perl logo, and the Programming Republic of Perl logo.
TPRF's product portfolio is organized around grant programs (Perl Core Development Fund, Raku Development Fund, Community Grants Program), events (The Perl and Raku Conference NA, London Perl Workshop, Perl Toolchain Summit), Community Project Support (fiscal sponsorship using its 501(c)(3) status), trademark management, and licensing administration. The foundation serves two primary stakeholder groups: the global community of Perl and Raku developers and core contributors (tens of thousands of users worldwide, organized into Perl Mongers user groups), and corporate sponsors who fund maintenance of languages on which their own products depend — including SUSE (OpenQA, Open Build Service, Kubernetes package builds), DuckDuckGo (Gold sponsor), WebPros (Silver sponsor), Proxmox, Fastmail, and Geizhals Preisvergleich (a price comparison platform running on Perl for 25 years).
The foundation operates on a nonprofit fundraising model: it does not charge for Perl, Raku, or CPAN. Revenue comes from individual donations and corporate sponsorships organized into tiers from Community (under $6,000) to Diamond ($100,000) annually. Day-to-day operations are governed by a self-electing Board of Directors, with a Steering Committee handling operational work and a Grants Committee reviewing grant proposals. The majority of TPRF's work is performed by volunteers in a meritocratic structure; the organization does not have parent-company ownership, venture capital, or public-market exposure.
The Perl Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Perl Foundation
- Legal name
- Yet Another Society
- Website
- https://perlfoundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Perl & Raku Foundation (Yet Another Society) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that stewards the Perl and Raku programming languages, CPAN, and related trademarks and licenses, funding core language development through corporate sponsorships, individual donations, and grants to serve the global developer community.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Perl Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Source Programming Language Stewardship
- NAICS
- Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF)
Keywords
Where The Perl Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Walnut
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
The Perl Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Others, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Donations and Sponsorships: The foundation receives financial support from individuals and organizations through donations and corporate sponsorships at various levels (Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze). Donors benefit from tax deductibility as a 501(c)(3) organization.
- Grant Funding: TPRF funds development grants for Perl and Raku developers. These are funded by donations and support open source developers working on language improvements and ecosystem projects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Diamond Level: $100,000 - Premium sponsor benefits |
| Subscription | Annual | Platinum Level: $50,000 |
| Subscription | Monthly | Gold Level: $24,000 ($2,000/month) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Silver Level: $12,000 ($1,000/month) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bronze Level: $6,000 ($500/month) |
| Subscription | Annual | Community Level: <$6,000 |
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Perl Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Perl & Raku Foundation is a nonprofit organization that stewards the Perl and Raku programming languages by funding open source developers through grant programs, administering trademarks and the Artistic License, and supporting community events such as The Perl and Raku Conference. It collects donations and corporate sponsorships to sustain language maintenance, modernization of core features, and the CPAN ecosystem of over 25,000 modules.
Product overview
The Perl & Raku Foundation (TPRF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the Perl and Raku programming languages through open discussion, collaboration, design, and code. Rather than a single product, TPRF operates a portfolio of programs including grant funding mechanisms (Perl Core Development Fund, Raku Development Fund, Community Grants), event support (The Perl and Raku Conference NA, London Perl Workshop, Perl Toolchain Summit), community project administrative support, trademark management, and licensing (Artistic License 2.0 and 1.0). The foundation uses donations to fund open source developers who maintain and modernize Perl and Raku. TPRF also supports CPAN (Comprehensive Perl Archive Network) through related infrastructure projects and hosts the Perl Foundation News blog.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Perl Core Development Fund A grant program funding development and improvement of the Perl 5 core language; funds are disbursed via grants awarded by the Grants Committee in conjunction with Perl Core Team members and are available to open source developers working on Perl 5 maintenance and modernization.
- Raku Development Fund A grant program funding development and improvement of the Raku language specification and implementations; available to open source developers working on the Raku ecosystem.
- Community Grants Program Grant programs funding projects within the Perl and Raku communities, covering core language improvements, documentation, and tutorials; managed by the Grants Committee.
- The Perl and Raku Conference NA Annual North American gathering where Perl and Raku developers share code, solve problems, and build relationships that sustain the open source community.
- Community Project Support Administrative support for community projects, providing fund management under TPRF's 501(c)(3) status for donors; includes fund designation, donation handling, and compliance oversight for community-led Perl and Raku projects.
- Perl & Raku Trademarks Trademark management services protecting the Perl and Raku names, the onion logo, the Powered by Perl logo, and the Programming Republic of Perl logo; provides guidelines for use of Perl marks by licensees.
- Artistic License 2.0 Open source license under which the current Perl distribution is released, establishing terms for copying, modifying, and distributing the Perl Package.
- Artistic License 1.0 Original Artistic License establishing conditions under which a Package may be copied while maintaining the copyright holder's artistic control.
- Perl Toolchain Summit Annual summit event where maintainers collaborate on infrastructure that powers CPAN and related Perl tools.
- London Perl Workshop Annual Perl workshop held in London, supported by TPRF, providing a regional forum where Perl developers collaborate in person.
Quantifiable outcome
- Tens of thousands of Perl and Raku users benefit from grant-funded development worldwide
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Perl Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Perl Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
The Perl Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- FastmailcoreBronze level sponsor that also provides email hosting services to the foundation at no cost as a sponsor in kind. Supports the Perl and Raku community through both financial contributions and infrastructure services.
- NetActuateminorProvides hosting infrastructure to CPAN Testers at no cost, supporting the Perl ecosystem's testing infrastructure.
- FoundantminorProvides a full instance of FC Suite to the foundation at no cost for grant and fund management.
- Open DigitalminorSupports the board seat of Stuart Mackintosh, contributing to foundation governance and operations.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Perl Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Apache Software Foundation: Major open source foundation stewarding hundreds of projects. Comparable as a 501(c)(3) with corporate sponsorship tiers, IP/trademark management, and large-scale event coordination, though far broader in scope.
- Eclipse Foundation: Nonprofit foundation supporting Eclipse IDE and related open source projects. Comparable as a 501(c)(3) with corporate membership, IP/licensing services, and event programs for a software development ecosystem.
- Free Software Foundation: 501(c)(3) advocating for free software and stewarding GNU. Comparable as a nonprofit open source organization with membership and donation model, though philosophically focused on software freedom rather than direct language maintenance.
- Linux Foundation: Largest open source foundation supporting Linux and many related projects. Comparable as a corporate-sponsored nonprofit ecosystem organization, though operating at significantly larger scale than TPRF.
Others
- Open Source Initiative: 501(c)(3) that maintains the Open Source Definition and advocates for open source. Comparable as a nonprofit ecosystem steward, though focused on licensing standards and advocacy rather than language maintenance.
Direct peers
- Rust Foundation: Nonprofit foundation supporting the Rust language ecosystem. Comparable as a language-specific 501(c)(3) with corporate membership tiers, grants for core maintainers, and event coordination.
- The PHP Foundation: Nonprofit established to fund PHP core development. Comparable as a language-focused foundation with corporate sponsors funding grants to maintainers — similar in mission and revenue model.
- OpenJS Foundation: Open source foundation supporting JavaScript, Node.js, and adjacent projects. Comparable as a programming ecosystem nonprofit with corporate membership tiers, event sponsorship, and project incubation programs.
- Python Software Foundation: 501(c)(3) nonprofit that holds Python IP and supports the language community. Directly comparable as a language-specific open source foundation with sponsorship tiers, grants, conferences, and trademark stewardship.
- Ruby Central: Nonprofit supporting Ruby language development and community. Comparable as a language-focused 501(c)(3) with annual conferences (RubyConf), grant funding, and corporate sponsorship.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Perl Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceThe Perl Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Perl Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Perl Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Perl Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Perl Foundation
What does The Perl Foundation do?
The Perl & Raku Foundation is a nonprofit organization that stewards the Perl and Raku programming languages by funding open source developers through grant programs, administering trademarks and the Artistic License, and supporting community events such as The Perl and Raku Conference. It collects donations and corporate sponsorships to sustain language maintenance, modernization of core features, and the CPAN ecosystem of over 25,000 modules.
Is The Perl Foundation a public or private company?
The Perl Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Perl Foundation founded?
The Perl Foundation was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Perl Foundation based?
The Perl Foundation is headquartered in Walnut, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Perl Foundation make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are grant Funding.
Who are The Perl Foundation's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Apache Software Foundation, Eclipse Foundation, Free Software Foundation and Linux Foundation. Open Source Initiative is listed as an others. Direct peers are Rust Foundation, The PHP Foundation, OpenJS Foundation, Python Software Foundation and Ruby Central.
Does The Perl Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Perl Foundation.
What industry is The Perl Foundation in?
The Perl Foundation's product category is Open Source Programming Language Stewardship. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAF, Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors. Its NAICS code is 813 and its SIC code is 8600.