Merge branch 'master' into development

docs/about.md

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 ---
 title: "About"
-weight: 3003
+weight: 3004
 ---
 
 ## About me

docs/business-and-financial-case-for-commercial-sponsorship.md

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+---
+title: "Why CFOs should care about Open Source"
+description: "The business and financial case for commercially sponsoring the Embedded Template Library (ETL)."
+date: 2026-09-12
+weight: 3003
+---
+
+If your engineering team is using the **Embedded Template Library (ETL)** in commercial products, your company is benefiting from a critical piece of software infrastructure. 
+
+While the ETL is free to use under the permissive MIT license, relying on open-source dependencies in commercial firmware without a formal support mechanism introduces significant **operational and financial risk**. 
+
+This page outlines the business case for transitioning from a passive consumer to a formal commercial sponsor of the ETL.
+
+## 1. Massive Cost Avoidance (Build vs. Buy)
+
+Developing, testing, and maintaining a custom, heap-free, deterministic C++ template library internally is a massive financial undertaking. To replicate the functionality, safety, and testing maturity of the ETL would require:
+
+* At least **1 to 2 senior embedded software engineers** working full-time for over a year.
+* An estimated internal cost exceeding **$100,000 – $200,000+** in salaries, benefits, and overhead.
+
+By utilizing the ETL, your company has already saved six figures in upfront R&D costs. Contributing a fraction of those savings back to the project ensures the tool remains actively maintained.
+
+## 2. Supply Chain Risk Mitigation
+
+The ETL is an industry-standard library used in automotive, medical, aerospace, and consumer electronics globally. However, it is maintained by a single key architect. 
+
+* **The "Key Person" Risk:** If the project is abandoned due to a lack of financial sustainability, your engineering team is left to maintain a massive, complex codebase alone.
+* **Toolchain Evolution:** As compiler standards shift (such as transitioning codebases to C++20 and C++23), the library requires ongoing engineering to prevent compilation failures and optimization regressions. 
+
+Sponsorship is not a charitable donation; it is a **risk mitigation premium** that secures the longevity of your product's software foundation.
+
+## 3. Compliance and Legal Safety
+
+Many corporate finance and legal departments are hesitant to use software that lacks a clear paper trail or accountability framework. 
+
+* We provide standard, professional **corporate invoices** for accounting and tax compliance.
+* We accept **direct bank transfers** across multiple major global currencies via standard SWIFT/IBAN channels.
+* Funding the library ensures it stays compliant with modern software supply chain standards (such as SBOM tracking and security vulnerability scanning).
+
+## How to Establish Commercial Support
+
+To simplify corporate procurement, we offer a streamlined vendor onboarding path that fits standard corporate accounting:
+
+### Production Partner Tier
+* **Financial Commitment:** An amount such as ~€300 / month (Available as an annual invoice to minimize recurring administrative paperwork).
+* **Deliverables:** A formalized corporate invoice sent to your accounts payable department, legal recognition of your company as a commercial backer, and direct risk reduction for your engineering stack.
+
+### Frictionless Corporate Billing (Via GitHub)
+If your engineering department already uses GitHub Enterprise, you can completely bypass corporate vendor onboarding. You can sponsor the ETL directly through **GitHub Sponsors for Organizations**. This adds the contribution directly to your **existing Microsoft/GitHub corporate invoice**, allowing middle managers to sign off on the expense immediately without involving procurement.
+
+---
+
+> "Relying on a critical open-source dependency without supporting its creator is an unmitigated business risk. Securing your software supply chain is a fundamental fiduciary duty."
+
+---
+
+For corporate invoicing setups please contact the author directly, or see the instructions [**here**]({{< relref "is-the-etl-free/#how-to-sponsor.md" >}}).  
+
+**{{< safe-email email="corporate.support@etlcpp.com" >}}**

hugo/layouts/shortcodes/safe-email.html

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+{{ $email := .Get "email" | base64Encode }}
+<a class="obfuscated-email" href="#" data-email="{{ $email }}">Contact Me</a>
+
+<script>
+(function() {
+  // Run once when the script loads to handle clicks safely
+  document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
+    const links = document.querySelectorAll('.obfuscated-email');
+    links.forEach(link => {
+      link.addEventListener('click', function(e) {
+        e.preventDefault();
+        const decoded = atob(this.getAttribute('data-email'));
+        window.location.href = 'mailto:' + decoded;
+      });
+    });
+  });
+})();
+</script>