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Dear Free Software Supporter,

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) will reach its [fortieth
anniversary][1] on October 4, 2025, in just a few months. Can you
believe it? Individuals like you have kept this movement going for
*forty years*. Thanks to the hard work of free software advocates, a
sizable number of our associate members have never known a world
without [free software][2] and the FSF. Some of these associate
members may not even know a world without technology ruling everyday
decisions, all the more reason to strengthen the free software
movement and spread its philosophy. User freedom is the answer to the
current and projected loss of autonomy in this digital era. The free
software movement has a long and fascinating history, but also much to
look forward to. This is a time to reflect, come together, and ensure
that the free software community will be even stronger forty years
from now.

[1]: [link removed]
[2]: [link removed]

Since 1985, we have fought for our mission of user freedom. Today, the
FSF and [its licenses][3] are often criticized for our insistence on
freedom, while simultaneously, our name and that of our licenses carry
a guaranteed stamp of user respect that corporations attempt to
exploit. This hypocrisy is exactly why we are proudly supported by
individuals like yourself (who we rely on as our main source of
income), instead of outside influences.

[3]: [link removed]

After a period of internal focus on the FSF's operations and
[governance][4], we now stand firmly as a remote organization, with a
[board][5] consisting of eight highly qualified directors, a balanced
budget, a diverse and thoughtful annual program, and a stronger than
ever focus on user freedom and protecting our licenses. The work
speaks for itself, as illustrated by some of our achievements from the
last few months, all made possible thanks to you:

[4]: [link removed]
[5]: [link removed]

* Our work to define the [criteria for a free machine learning system][6]
has continued. While speaking publicly and in private with audiences
and experts, we are now closing in on a statement of criteria. Just as
importantly, we are also becoming increasingly knowledgeable on the
topic and its consequences for our society with help from the
community;

[6]: [link removed]

* Nearly thirty events were held globally with the help of the FSF in
May in twenty countries. This [LibreLocal month][7] is a new initiative
I am particularly excited about to help us grow our community, share
knowledge, and facilitate local connections;

[7]: [link removed]

* We continued blocking, fighting, and educating how to counter the
continued web-scraping DDoS attacks that have come with the rise of
machine learning to our organization and many others. Imagine five
million unique IPs crawling the site at once. It requires a serious
up-scaling of our defenses, which you can read more about in this
season's *Free Software Bulletin*;

* We submitted an [amicus brief][8] in the appeals case entitled
*Neo4j, inc., et al v. Suhy, et al.* to defend user freedom and
Section 7 of the [GNU Affero General Public License version 3][9]
(AGPLv3). Our previous work with Neo4j had already pushed the company
to correct its errors, and with the amicus brief, we made it clear to
the court and the public that the GNU licenses explicitly allow users
to remove restrictions incompatible with the four freedoms; and

[8]: [link removed]
[9]: [link removed]

* We radically improved our infrastructure by building and deploying
four servers with new disks and replaced motherboards that all run
100% free software down to their BIOS. With increased CPU and RAM
growing our capacity, we secured the infrastructure for GNU and other
free software projects.


The FSF has been advocating for software freedom for forty years, and
having you as an ally empowered our journey, which is why we have made
it this far. We know not everyone is in a position to, but if you
can, **can you support our efforts by becoming an [associate member][10]
to help us reach our fundraising [goal][11] of 200 new members and fund
our work?** What we need are more allies like you to contribute
wherever and however you can. We need more resources, because in our
digital world it can feel like others hold the reins and dictate how
we live our lives. **We have to do more.** By supporting us today, you
help secure our future. Associate members will also be able to enjoy
all the [member benefits][16]. If you can't afford a membership
yourself, you can apply to have an FSF associate membership [sponsored
for you][17].

[10]: [link removed]
[11]: [link removed]
[16]: [link removed]
[17]: [link removed]



By staying true to our mission and growing the community, we will
continue to shift the balance toward user freedom.

We make [efficient][18] use of what we already have, but what we have seen
over these forty years is that the need has never been greater -- with
your help, we can double our reach, triple our impact, and quadruple
the amount of support free software has globally. The FSF will do
everything to defend user rights and sustain free software as a force
that cannot be ignored for as long as it's necessary. With your
continued support, we will be here to serve users everywhere for
generations to come.

[18]: [link removed]

Yours in freedom,

Zoë Kooyman
Executive Director
--
Interested in helping us expand our reach?

* Follow us on Mastodon at <[link removed]> and PeerTube at <[link removed]>, showing your support for federated social networks.
* Get active on the LibrePlanet wiki: <[link removed]>.
* Share on your blog or [social network]([link removed]) that you support us, and why you do so.
* Subscribe to our RSS feeds: <[link removed]>.
* Join us as an associate member: <[link removed]>; and display your membership button (<[link removed]>) on your website.

Read our Privacy Policy: <[link removed]>.

Sent from the Free Software Foundation,

31 Milk Street
# 960789
Boston, Massachusetts 02196
United States


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