LÖVE

I'd like to think one day that one of my projects make some sales and generates some income. I'd like to think that a small token amount can be shared with all the contributions that are offered free in good faith (audio, graphics, code libraries etc).

Do you track all the freebies you've used in case you're able to pay back one day? Do you keep a spreadsheet? If your project makes $1000 then how do you decide which portion goes to the sound effects guy? What portion goes to the artists? How much do you keep for yourself?

I code for enjoyment and challenge and will never recoup the time I put into my projects but I'd like to one day tip the amazing people that don't even know how they contributed.

I found this website but it seems pretty dead. Littered with abandoned projects and their last twitter post was 12 months ago

https://crowdsourcer.io/

I'm assuming Kickstarter or GoFundMe are the traditional routes for this kind of thing.

I'd just use a spreadsheet and add each contribution as a line item. When the item is received or contracted, note its value at the time. Then later, you can tick people off the list when you pay them.

You don't need a complicated sheet. It can be just a few columns:
Provider | Description | Date Contracted | Date Received | Price | Paid Amount | Paid Date | Paid In full | Owed Amount

The Paid In Full and Owed Amount fields can be automated with formulas (that's what I do on my monthly budget).

As to giving people rewards for free help: I'd look at how much work likely went in to the different assets as a whole. Don't try to compare one guy's pixel art to another guy's music, but rather look at the category as a whole: If you you think the music took 200 hours to make, and the art took 1000 hours to make, then you have a 5:1 ratio, and you should apportion your money accordingly.

Then do the same thing within the groups: If there are 1000 image assets, and you have $2000 to tip to creators, figure $2 per asset and add them up.

You'll need to track assets as you receive them (hence the spreadsheet), and maybe track whether and what you actually use. I'd still tip people who provided quality stuff, even if you didn't use it in this project... but that's just me.

Just remember that if people gave you free stuff up front, that you're tipping... and tipping is different than contracting. If I contract with an artist for 1000 pixel art images, then we set a fee and he (or she) does the work. I pay the set fee, and the deal is done. But tipping after the fact for donated stuff is up to you: you are giving people a gift as thanks for a contribution to something that was successful and other people liked.

Any of us could create the next Stardew Valley, although I'm not really expecting to, myself. Still, it's always worth tipping artists who have helped.

In terms of rewarding people for free help, I'd consider how much effort put into the many assets as a whole. You'll need to keep track of assets when they arrive, as well as whether or not you use them. Even if you didn't utilize it in this project, I'd still tip those who offered good work. I even when I didn't have enough money took financial aid from the North'n'Loans to thank the people who worked for me. Just keep in mind that you're tipping if folks give you free goods up front.