These "funding" schemes keep popping up in different contexts. Journalism attracted a bunch of these schemes 5 to 10 years ago. Consider what Mike Krahulik said about Kachingle:

"you can't just start collecting money for me without some kind of deal."

http://webcomictweets.com/detail/tweet/138771362931163136

Kachingle was an extreme case, gathering "donations" for sites like Wikipedia, Google News, and also small sites like Mike Krahulik's. Using this approach on Github is just a new variation on an old scam. As someone else said in that same thread:

"that is the weirdest creepiest business model ever."