This post was written by FSF board member and co-founder of CivicActions Henry Poole.

But, as we imagine into the future, it is clear that operating systems are becoming embedded in everything. Our homes, our automobiles, and even our bodies. While a stand for free software was impersonal thirty years ago, in another thirty years it will be very personal. Operating systems will likely be embedded in our bodies, and the rights to use, study, modify, and share that software to stay alive and connect with others should be a fundamental human right. The last thirty years wasn't easy -- maintaining a state of integrity is often difficult and lonely. The next thirty years are likely to be just as difficult (or more).

Don't retire so young -- make a personal commitment today to become a lifetime FSF supporter. Stand with us for another thirty years. In the years ahead, people around the world will celebrate that stand.

And if you are fortunate enough to have a job at a company that uses free software, ask your company to increase patronage of free software by supporting the FSF. The FSF has a patron program for businesses that support and use free software. Of the 18,000 new US businesses that start every day, it would be great to see a new patron each day support the FSF.

We've received nearly 6,000 donations and have signed up more than 400 new members during this fundraiser. Your donation or membership will help us make 2016 a shining year for software freedom.

To those of you who have given, for the first time or many times, thank you. The Free Software Foundation relies heavily on individual donors in order to continue fighting for computer user rights. We couldn't do this without you.

As the fundraiser comes to a close, we are turning our attention to our goals for the coming year. We want to:

• analyze and respond to the results of our Vision Survey (open until Monday, February 1 at 05:00 UTC)
• make this year's LibrePlanet better than ever, kicking off with a remote conversation with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden
• launch a new, updated site to put the best face possible on free software
• invest in more staff so we can expand the Respects Your Freedom certification program, bring the free software philosophy to more people, aid more free software development in high priority areas, and deftly enforce the GNU General Public License
• keep up the momentum we've built in the fight against the Trans Pacific Partnership, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention rules, and the FCC-instigated lockdown of wireless devices
• continue to campaign for the abolition of software patents
• resist plans for an official Digital Restrictions Management extension to HTML5
• create and improve upon free software advocacy materials, including videos
• grow and update the FSF and GNU Project infrastructure, allowing us to accommodate more GNU projects
• improve the FSF's development infrastructure, email, code hosting, and other services for GNU developers and FSF members, and incorporate more community members in FSF sysadmin and Web development projects

We need financial resources to get things done for you, but we also need your advice and guidance. Tell us how you feel about the free software movement and the work we do by responding to our survey by Sunday. Your compliments and criticisms will help us plan another thirty years of work.

We are so close to raising $450,000 by Sunday, January 31st, ensuring that we can make great things happen in 2016. Will you help us meet -- or even exceed -- that goal? Make a one-time donation now, or make a long-term commitment to supporting the FSF by becoming an associate member for as little as $10/month (student memberships are further discounted). Membership offers many great benefits, including gratis admission to LibrePlanet.

Read more about the recent accomplishments and upcoming goals of our campaigns, licensing, and tech teams.

Be sure to join us the morning of Saturday, March 19th for "The last lighthouse: Free software in dark times" in which Snowden (who will appear via a free software video call) and Daniel Kahn Gillmor will discuss free software, surveillance, power, and control of the future.

Daniel Kahn Gillmor
This work by Daniel Kahn Gillmor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Edward Snowden
Screenshot of Citizen Four by Praxis Films. by Laura Poitras is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Edward Snowden is a former intelligence officer who served the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), NSA, and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for nearly a decade as a subject matter expert on technology and cybersecurity. In 2013, he revealed the NSA was unconstitutionally seizing the private records of billions of individuals who had not been suspected of any wrongdoing, resulting in the largest debate about reforms to US surveillance policy since 1978. Today, he works on methods of enforcing human rights through the application and development of new technologies. He joined the board of Freedom of the Press Foundation in February 2014.

Daniel Kahn Gillmor is a technologist with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, and a free software developer. He's a Free Software Foundation Associate member, a member of Debian, a contributor to a wide range of free software projects, and a participant in protocol development standards organizations like the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), with an eye toward preserving and improving civil liberties and civil rights through our shared infrastructure.

LibrePlanet will once again be held at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Stata Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 19th and 20th, 2016. The continued partnership of the Free Software Foundation and MIT's Student Information Processing Board (SIPB) means another unmissable gathering of free software enthusiasts. The rest of the LibrePlanet program, including other fantastic keynotes, workshops, and sessions, will be announced soon.

You don't want to miss this. Register for LibrePlanet today to ensure admission -- conference capacity is limited and we may have to close registration. As always, admission to the conference is gratis for FSF members and students. Not a member? Join today for gratis admission to LibrePlanet -- plus, you'll help us meet our winter fundraising goal of $450,000 by January 31st.

Does your organization or company want to exhibit at LibrePlanet 2016? Apply to be an exhibitor by January 31st to reach hundreds of hackers, activists, and free software enthusiasts at the Stata Center.

Participate in supporting the Free Software Directory by adding new entries and updating existing ones. We will be on IRC in the #fsf channel on freenode.

Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth of useful information, from basic category and descriptions, to providing detailed info about version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing info that has been carefully checked by FSF staff and trained volunteers.

While the Free Software Directory has been and continues to be a great resource to the world over the past decade, it has the potential of being a resource of even greater value. But it needs your help!

If you are eager to help and you can't wait or are simply unable to make it onto IRC on Friday, our participation guide will provide you with all the information you need to get started on helping the Directory today! There are also weekly FSD Meetings pages that everyone is welcome to contribute to before, during, and after each meeting.