*Please consider adding <[email protected]> to your address book, which will
ensure that our messages reach you and not your spam box.*

*Read and share online:
<[link removed]>*


Dear Free Software Supporter,

In the year 2020, every shred of good news is something to be grateful
for, and the outpouring of support we've experienced during [our
spring fundraiser][0] is very good news indeed. Over the course of the
last month, not only did we exceed our goal of 200 new associate
members, but we've gained more memberships this July than in any other
July in the history of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) associate
membership program. We are thrilled that in a time of many pressing
concerns about freedom and safety, our supporters have grasped the
central importance of the FSF's role in defending our right to control
the software in our lives. We cannot possibly thank you enough for
helping to ensure that we can continue leading this battle.

[0]: [link removed]

While the fight to free all software will always need [financial
support][1], it also requires advocacy to bring in more supporters at
all levels of technological knowledge. We hope you'll use, enjoy, and
share some of the newer tools and advocacy materials we've produced
over the last few months:

[1]: [link removed]

* [The University of Costumed Heroes video][2]: An urgent software
freedom issue right now, during the novel coronavirus pandemic, is
the [required use of proprietary remote education software][3] (as
well as [in courtrooms][4] and other environments where people would
normally congregate in person). We've commissioned a fun animated
video that illustrates why this trend is dangerous, and we encourage
you to share it and use it to start the conversation.

[2]: [link removed]
[3]: [link removed]
[4]: [link removed]

* [Petition for freedom in the classroom][5]: Please join others in
declaring in that we won't stand for the serious harm that
proprietary software poses to students! Not only does signing
communicate that you care, but you also have the option to specify
if you're a student, teacher, parent, or administrator at a school
that is forcing you to use proprietary software to learn or
teach. If you choose to provide this information, we will contact
your school administration on your behalf. Free software activists
are already [converting schools to free videoconferencing
programs][6] today, and we want to help make your school another
success story if we can.

[5]: [link removed]
[6]: [link removed]


Please [read, sign,][7] and [share][8] the petition today!

[7]: [link removed]
[8]: [link removed]'%20%2523UserFreedom.%20By%20signing%20the%20%40fsf%20petition%20you%20help%20reverse%20the%20trend%20of%20forsaking%20young%20people's%20freedom%20in%20name%20of%20education.


* [The FSF Jitsi Meet instance][9]: Finally, one of the easiest ways
to introduce people to free software is to use it for something they
were going to do already, like video chat! If you're an [associate
member of the FSF][10], and you're planning a video chat with a
friend or family, member, it's as easy as opening a Jitsi Meet chat
room and sharing the URL. I've personally used the FSF Jitsi Meet
instance to convert my friends' team trivia game to free software
videoconferencing, and it's another great way to start a
conversation about why the people you care about should embrace the
cause of free software.

[9]: [link removed]
[10]: [link removed]

Once again, we're so grateful and humbled by your support at a time
when many nonprofit organizations are struggling to stay afloat. It's
your conviction and commitment that make our work possible, and we
hope that with your help, we'll keep the good news coming.

Happy and healthy hacking,

Dana Morgenstein
Outreach and Communications Coordinator


--
* Follow us on Mastodon at <[link removed]>, GNU social at
<[link removed]>, Diaspora at <[link removed]>,
and on Twitter at <[link removed]>.
* Read about why we use Twitter, but only with caveats at <[link removed]>.
* Subscribe to our RSS feeds at <[link removed]>.
* Join us as an associate member at <[link removed]>.
* Read our Privacy Policy at <[link removed]>.

Sent from the Free Software Foundation,

51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-1335
United States


You can unsubscribe from this mailing list by visiting

[link removed].

To stop all email from the Free Software Foundation, including Defective by Design,
and the Free Software Supporter newsletter, visit

[link removed].