Founding the TypeORM Association

Our Path Forward at TypeORM

Last November, Michael and I took over maintenance of TypeORM. Since then, we've assembled a dedicated group of maintainers, shipped 7 patch releases fixing hundreds of issues, and brought the project back to life. That was milestone one.

TypeORM stands now at more than 12M monthly downloads and 36k GitHub stars. The project is truly alive!

TypeORM Downloads

Now we're working toward v1.0.0 and our next big milestone: establishing an official TypeORM association with clear governance, committed maintainers, and sustainable funding.

Why an Association in Austria?

We're incorporating in Vienna, Austria for several practical reasons:

Vienna hosts numerous international non-profit organizations and institutions. Austria maintains political neutrality—important for a project open to everyone globally, regardless of geography or politics. Michael and I live here, making incorporation straightforward. The bureaucracy and costs are minimal.

Our North Star

We're building toward:

  • Clear governance structure with a board steering technical direction and strategic partnerships
  • Committed maintainers investing 2-4 hours weekly, compensated for their work so TypeORM isn't an afterthought
  • Sustainable sponsorships that fund the maintenance team
  • Market visibility alongside Drizzle, Prisma, and other modern ORMs
  • Benefits and incentives that make sponsoring TypeORM attractive to companies and individuals

The Roadmap

Step 1: Incorporation Found the association with proper bylaws (~€50 incorporation cost). Elevantiq will cover upfront costs and submit invoices to OpenCollective.

Step 2: Build the Board Find a third board member responsible for technical steering—triaging, roadmap planning, releases, and community communication. Michael and I will focus on database company relationships, framework collaborations, and public communications.

Step 3: Improve Financial Infrastructure Move beyond OpenCollective's current limitations to better manage donations, funds, and payments to maintainers.

Step 4: Grow the Maintenance Team Build toward 6-8 maintainers over 18-24 months, each committing 2-4 hours weekly. Compensation will be buying-power adjusted hourly rates—not market rates, but fair reimbursement for opportunity cost.

Step 5: Secure Sponsorships Establish recurring donations from database companies, frameworks, and organizations to fund the team.

Step 6: Establish Release Discipline Create a maintainable release routine prioritizing stability over rapid innovation.

Step 7: Transparency Operate with open accounting—visible incoming sponsorships and outgoing payments.

Join Us

Feedback: What are we missing? What could be better? Let us know.

Third Board Seat: We're reaching out to candidates who've shown strong commitment over recent months.

Maintenance Team: Interested in joining the official maintenance team? Email your application and tell us why you should be part of TypeORM's future.

Sponsorships: Work at a database company interested in collaboration? Have budget for open source sponsorships? Reach out to us.

TypeORM has been a cornerstone of the TypeScript ecosystem. Together, we're building the foundation for its next chapter.