Mozilla Add-ons has announced a new feature that allows developers ask for voluntary contributions to users who benefit from their creations:

We’re incredibly excited about the potential of Contributions and hope it makes a meaningful difference in the lives of developers and users alike. As always, we’ll be evaluating this pilot as we receive feedback and making changes based on that feedback.

As shown in the screenshot below, a small widget is shown in the add-on description, though it’s just one of several options developers have to ask. Users can select the suggested contribution amount, or give as much as they want via Paypal, the selected provider for handling the contributions, in part because of its international reach and reduced fees for micropayments (payments under $12) which will most likely dominate among contributors.

Mozilla considers the program a pilot and its continuity will depend on the results for both users and developers. Mozilla is not getting a cut of any contributions at this point, but I think it would be fair and could become an additional source of income for Mozilla to finance the necessary infrastructure.

Hopefully, providing a streamlined, easy way for developers to benefit financially from their creations will encourage more people to get involved and will lead to a better and even healthier add-ons ecosystem.