In the span of two weeks, Yet Another Society has been able to raise USD 55,000 for its first-ever Perl Development Grant, awarded to Perl hacker, author, and lecturer Damian Conway. The total money is what was needed to buy out Conway's obligations at Monash University.

Conway will spend the next year working on Perl in various ways: writing it, writing and lecturing about it, and working on various related projects.

The greatest single donation was from Black Star, an online video retailer, which donated half the total -- USD 27,500 -- in matching funds. Other corporate donors include VA Linux, Manning Publications, Stonehenge Consulting, and O'Reilly. Funding over the base amount is to be used for travel and expenses. A list of contributors will be posted on the YAS web site, along with Conway's diary and calendar for the next year.