John,

This past year, something has shifted.

Every time our community lands a real blow on a powerful corporation or billionaire, a lawyer’s letter isn’t far behind. From a mining giant threatening to drag us into court, to a tech company slapping us with a subpoena, to attacks for our Gaza work – the message is the same: stop, or we’ll make you pay for it.

We’re seeing more and more billionaires – including President Trump – twisting the law to punish and silence nonprofits for campaigns they don’t like.

Ekō is not about to let Trump or any other litigious billionaire dictate what we work on. But defending our work and staff properly has come with some of the highest legal costs we’ve ever faced. And that money has to come from somewhere. Before we even think about cuts, we’re asking you to consider making an extra donation that will help us turn “legal risk” into a line in the budget that’s fully funded.

We rely on member donations to help fund everything we do – including the expenses and staff time involved in any legal defence. Your support now will change what’s possible for Ekō in 2026. Will you make any donation to help Ekō defend itself?

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Advice from specialist lawyers, responding to threats, protecting colleagues – not to mention all the administrative expenses and staff time spent on defending ourselves – it adds up fast. And billionaires know it. That’s why they’re so quick to launch legal attack after legal attack on small organisations like ours.  

But we have power in numbers. Every time we rise together against these threats, it completely changes what’s possible for Ekō. Instead of asking “can we afford to take this on?” for every high-risk campaign (and let’s face it, most campaigns are high-risk these days) we can ask “what will be most impactful?” That’s how we keep driving change – even as the powerful try to shut us up.

And there’s something else at stake here. 

When a small, people-powered organisation stands up to legal intimidation and wins – or even just refuses to fold – it sends a powerful message out into the world. It shows governments, journalists, and activists everywhere that we can challenge billionaires and survive the backlash. 

Whether it’s $3 or $300, your donation today is a concrete act of solidarity: showing Trump, Musk, OpenAI and the rest that they don’t get to silence this community with threats and invoices. Will you help us continue delivering on the campaigns against exploitative billionaires that you count on us for and give a little extra to help Ekō defend itself?

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