It supports a donation-based model to organize and finance software development, and is one example of Donationware.
All donors to the site receive their donation back as DonationCredits which they can then trade amongst themselves to support different projects and reward activities contributing to the community.
The community also fosters collaboration on free services, programming contests, and academic projects.
DonationCoder has been recognized by Lifehacker,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Ghacks[10] and other well-known and reputable blogs[11][12] for its adherence to the principles of freeware and open source software.
Many well-regarded utilities have been produced by the coders that frequent DonationCoder.com, especially during the annual New Apps for the New Year (N.A.N.Y.)