In the past twelve months alone, the free software community has:
-
Written 268 new releases to GNU packages, keeping world-class
software in the hands of everyone
-
Helped the FSF write, test, and translate Email
Self-Defense, so that computer
users of all levels can enhance everyone's email privacy using
free software
-
Used the User Liberation
video
and free software badges
to get newcomers thinking about free software for the first time
-
Made LibrePlanet 2014 our biggest (322 participants!) conference
ever and helped us fund fourteen travel scholarships, enabling
important face-to-face meetings between free software activists,
developers, and newcomers from all over the world
-
Pounded the pavement in multiple cities on the International Day
Against
DRM,
building public opposition to unethical technological restrictions
Meanwhile, the FSF's experts and activists have
-
Provided vital technical infrastructure to the GNU Project,
connected developers to projects, and helped get them funded for
their work
-
Helped twenty companies and organizations properly respect the
GNU General Public
License and other free
software licenses, so that free software remains truly free
-
Certified five new devices to Respect Your
Freedom,
getting us closer to a world where you can walk into a store and
buy from a selection of hardware that works 100% with free
software
-
Worked with hardware companies to bring you awesome deals through
the 2014 Giving Guide,
while also encouraging more ethical gifting
-
Called a gathering of free software experts to breathe new life
into the High Priority Projects
initiative,
which will bring attention and resources to the key stumbling
blocks for users trying to win back their freedom
Our part of this work relies on your financial support, and this is
the time of year that we need it most. Our annual fundraiser is coming
to a close on Saturday, and we're still short of our goal of $525,000.
Many of you have already chipped in, and we
are thankful to every one who has.
The FSF can't rest now, though -- we need to meet our goal so that we
can keep doing amazing things for computer user freedom and providing
every tool and resource we can think of to help the free software
community thrive.
More than 10,000 people visit this site every day. If each
of you give
$14,
it will be enough to push us over our goal and ensure we can win new
victories for free software in 2015. If only a small portion of you become members, it will be enough.
Because we receive 80% of our support from individuals like you, this
yearly winter fundraiser is incredibly important us -- all of our
decisions about how much we can do the following year depend on how
well the fundraiser goes. And since it's our thirtieth anniversary
year, we want to do a lot! This coming year, the money that we raise
now will help us
-
Fund more hardware, bandwidth, and infrastructure used by GNU
software developers and free software activists worldwide
-
Supply modest salaries for staff to work full-time defending your
freedom
-
Build an emergency reserve to defend free software against legal
threats from proprietary software companies
-
Get FSF representatives to events around the world to spread the
word and strengthen regional free software movements
-
Create high-quality communications campaigns to show the injustice
of proprietary software and point to a better way
We have the highest possible rating of four stars from Charity
Navigator, an organization that evaluates how effectively and
responsibly nonprofits use donations. Part of the reason for this is
that we use 79% of all money raised for our program work promoting and
defending free software, rather than administrative costs or
fundraising.
No matter how carefully and strategically we use the resources we
have, we don't even come close to the arsenal at the disposal of
proprietary software giants like Microsoft and Apple. But that doesn't
mean we can't take them on. Thirty years ago, we were just a handful
of hackers with a dream. Now we're a powerful global movement. For the
next thirty years, we'll keep pushing towards a future where
proprietary software is a thing of the past, and the rights of all
users are respected.
If this vision of the future inspires you as much as it inspires
us, we hope you join us by
donating
or becoming a
member.
