Tiffany Farriss Proposes Cost Accounting and Usage-Based Enterprise Funding

Interim CEO Tiffany Farriss has proposed programme-level cost accounting for the Drupal Association. In written responses to The DropTimes, Tiffany said she also wants to explore usage-based funding for enterprise-facing utility and infrastructure services. She said reserves are currently covering a funding gap, while her appointment is expected to last six to twelve months.

Tiffany said the Association must connect the cost of each programme with the value it provides and the funding model used to sustain it. The proposals are her stated direction as interim CEO, not policies already approved by the Drupal Association Board. They would require the Association to identify the full cost of its programmes and consider different funding approaches for infrastructure, digital-public-good work, and ecosystem advocacy. Tiffany published the same broad priorities in a Drupal Association blog post on 21 July 2026.

Tiffany said the Association’s current financial reports do not fully communicate the cost of individual programmes and events, including the staff time required to deliver them. She plans to modernise the reporting systems so the Board, staff, and community can see where money is spent and which programmes produce value. “We have to stop treating the Association as one opaque budget and understand what each program actually costs and what it produces,” she said in her written response.

The Association publishes audited financial statements and tax filings through its accountability pages. Those pages currently list audited financial statements and Form 990 filings through fiscal year 2024. Tiffany said the Board is expected to release the 2025 audit soon.

Tiffany said event revenue had previously covered most of the Association’s wider stewardship work but had stopped being sufficient several years ago. According to her, the Association has since covered the resulting gap from its reserves. In her public post, Tiffany identified Drupal.org, project infrastructure, and DrupalCon among the stewardship costs that event revenue no longer fully covers.

Drupal founder Dries Buytaert wrote in a 15 July 2026 post that operating Drupal’s shared infrastructure costs roughly $3 million annually. He said DrupalCon revenue, partnership programmes, sponsorships, donations, donated services, and volunteer contributions had supported that infrastructure. Dries described the current model as insufficiently durable for the scale of the work ahead.

Tiffany proposes funding different categories of work according to their function. She said utility and infrastructure services used by enterprises could move towards a usage-based model, while Drupal’s digital-public-good work could draw on philanthropy and contribution. Ecosystem advocacy could receive dedicated support from organisations that benefit from Drupal’s adoption and continued development.

The usage-based proposal remains at an exploratory stage. Neither Tiffany’s written responses nor her public post specifies which services might be included, how usage would be measured, which organisations would pay, or whether participation would be voluntary. It should therefore be understood as an approach she intends to examine rather than an established funding programme.

Tiffany described the intended outcome as a regenerative model in which income associated with utility and advocacy services supports Drupal’s continued operation as a digital public good. Her third stated priority is to work with other open-source projects on a shared standard for sustainable use. She said enterprises and public bodies that depend on maintained open-source infrastructure should treat support for that work as an ordinary operating expense rather than an occasional donation.

Tiffany also provided details about the conflict-of-interest framework governing her relationship with Palantir.net, the Drupal agency she owns. She said she stepped away from its day-to-day operations on 20 July 2026. She acknowledged that the experience and relationships she brings from the Drupal partner ecosystem also create a conflict, or the perception of one.

The document reviewed by The DropTimes is Exhibit B of Tiffany’s interim agreement rather than the complete contract. It allows her to participate in Certified Partner and Supporting Partner strategy, structure, pricing philosophy, and aggregate revenue planning at the policy level. Any change to partner-programme pricing, benefits, structure, or terms requires Finance Committee review followed by full Board approval.

The exhibit prohibits Tiffany from participating in decisions that specifically affect Palantir.net’s Certified Partner status, tier, benefits, or terms. Tiffany said a separate section of the agreement freezes Palantir.net’s existing tier and benefits for the duration of her appointment. Ordinary renewal fees continue, but no evaluation, upgrade, downgrade, reclassification, or termination can be handled by Tiffany.

The framework prevents Tiffany from accessing Salesforce directly, although she may request aggregate reports produced by Association staff. It also excludes her from procurement or contracting decisions in which Palantir.net could be a vendor, referral recipient, or direct beneficiary. She cannot direct Association work, referrals, or subcontracts towards the agency or use confidential Association information for its benefit.

Tiffany is prohibited from directing, reviewing, or influencing staff who assess marketplace contribution credits, partner tiers, or programme compliance involving Palantir.net or its direct competitors. Staff performing those duties report directly to the board chair or Finance Committee rather than through the interim CEO. Questions close to a conflict category are decided by the Finance Committee rather than by Tiffany herself.

Tiffany said Palantir.net team members may continue to receive standard contribution credits for qualifying work, but she will receive no personal or discretionary credit during her interim term. Business-development activity on behalf of Palantir.net requires express Finance Committee permission and is expected to be minimised. The exhibit also prevents her from approving her own fees, invoices, or expenses.

The framework is designed to manage, rather than eliminate, the conflict arising from Tiffany’s ownership of Palantir.net through recusals, access restrictions, alternative reporting lines, and Board oversight. It prevents her from participating in the permanent CEO evaluation or selection beyond logistical support. Tiffany also said the agreement requires full Board authorisation at every stage of forming a subsidiary or affiliated organisation.

Tiffany said she was not involved in the decision to appoint her. She had previously told the Executive Committee that she intended to resign from the Drupal Association Board after the 2025 audit was completed and presented. She said she resigned before the Board discussed appointing her as interim CEO and recused herself from the Board’s and Executive Committee’s deliberations.

Tiffany added that there is no expectation that she will return to the Board after the interim appointment concludes. She referred questions about why the Board selected her and which immediate priorities shaped the decision to board chair Baddý Sonja Breidert. Tiffany also said she is not involved in deciding the timing or structure of the permanent CEO search.

The Drupal Association announced on 15 July 2026 that Tim Doyle, its first CEO, had stepped down. The announcement said the Board had been working on succession and interim leadership but did not provide a reason for Tim’s departure or explain when the transition had been decided. Tim later provided The DropTimes with a statement through Slack.

It has been a privilege to lead the Drupal Association. Over the past four years, we have strengthened the foundation of our business, aligned our strategy, and built a strong team. As Drupal moves into its next phase of growth, I believe this is a natural transition point and look forward to supporting a smooth transition.

Doyle declined to answer further questions about the transition, unfinished work, and the Association’s financial position. He said he had chosen not to weigh in “in deference to the new leadership at the DA.”

Baddý responded to The DropTimes by email on 20 July 2026 and said she was on family leave until the beginning of August. She offered to review the responses from the other people contacted and add comments if needed after returning. Her email did not address the Board-specific questions about Tiffany’s selection or the permanent CEO search.

Baddý has not declined to comment. The DropTimes plans to return to the Board-specific questions about the selection process, transition planning, and permanent CEO search after she returns in early August. No conclusion about the Board’s position can be drawn from the deferred response.

The 2022 process that led to Tim’s appointment was publicly documented by the Association. Applications were open for four weeks, 120 people applied, and candidates passed through initial screening, telephone and video interviews, leadership discussions, and a final strategy presentation. The search team reported reaching a unanimous decision before reference checks and Tim’s appointment.

Dries wrote that the Board plans to launch a permanent CEO search later in Tiffany’s six-to-twelve-month interim period. The Association has not yet announced when that search will begin, whether the role will be publicly advertised, or whether candidates from outside Drupal and open source will be considered. Those questions remain for the Board rather than Tiffany.

Until the Board approves specific changes, the funding programme described by Tiffany remains a proposed direction for the interim period. Changes affecting partner structures, pricing, benefits, affiliated entities, or other governed programmes remain subject to the Finance Committee and Board procedures established in her agreement. The expected release of the 2025 audit will provide the next public financial record against which the Association’s reserve use and funding position can be assessed.