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Dear Free Software Supporter,

Please help us share our appreciation.

January 20, 2023 marked the end of our most recent fundraising
campaign and associate member drive. We are proud to add 330 new
associate members to our organization, and we have immense
appreciation for the community that helped us get there.

We may have not reached our ambitious goal of welcoming 455 new
associate members to the FSF, but we'd rather fail at meeting high
expectations than aim too low from the outset. In the end, hundreds of
new members signed up for the first time, and even more renewed. We
were humbled throughout this fundraiser to see that, despite not
making our goal, support for us this year has been immense. We want to
express our appreciation to all of you, the contributors and
supporters, who helped us raise more than $400,000 during this
year-end fundraiser campaign. Those who donated $500 or more and give
their permission can be publicly acknowledged in the monthly
newsletter, the [*Free Software Supporter*][0], as well as on our
[social media channels][1]. Look for such donors via the hashtag
[#ThankGNU][2].

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

New memberships mean new connections in the movement, and we are
grateful for each and every one of them. Fiscal contributions help the
FSF continue to do our important work of protecting user freedom and
along with that, protecting the freedom to share -- the focus of this
year's appeal.

We wholeheartedly thank *you* for all forms of participation in the
free software movement -- everything from financial support to
contributing code to contributing to the [Free Software Directory
(FSD)][3]. And we also want to express our deep appreciation for those
who took action in activities such as the [International Day Against
DRM (IDAD)][4], which was held recently on December 16, 2022.

We receive so much continuous support and community involvement
throughout the year. Looking back, we started this fundraiser with
volunteers assisting us to send thousands of copies of the latest
[*Free Software Bulletin*][5], along with personalized letters, to our
associate members all over the world. The volunteers of the
[LibrePlanet][6] committee then began working hard to create a
thrilling schedule for our annual conference (soon to be
released). The ongoing support of the licensing team, which sometimes
goes unseen, was described in detail in our last [blog post][7],
bringing light to their valued work. And the tech team volunteers and
interns are currently performing server upgrades and many other tasks
that, way too often, stay invisible from the public's attention. We
have sincere appreciation for all of this generous volunteer support
from the wider free software community.

[3]: [link removed]
[4]: [link removed]
[5]: [link removed]
[6]: [link removed]
[7]: [link removed]

### Continue your support

Please continue to defend the freedom to share. Talk to your friends
and family about what sharing means to you. Write a blog about it,
make a video, or post a comment using the hashtag #FreedomToShare on
[social media networks][8]. You can also share our [#FreedomToShare
videos][9], which bring to light how common the desire to share
software, music, and e-books really is.

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

### Continue your involvement

The FSF is inviting all current associate members to nominate
candidates to serve on the board of directors. We encourage you to
nominate people who share our strong commitment to our mission and
values. FSF board nominations are now open until March 3, 2023, 10:00
EST (15:00 UTC), through the nomination form at
<[link removed]>. For more information
please visit the [announcement of the nomination process][10].

[10]: [link removed]

### Upcoming: LibrePlanet 2023

We invite you to join us for this year's conference. Software freedom
in education advocate [Erin Rose Glass][11] will keynote, and we will
soon announce our second keynote speaker. No matter if you plan on
attending in person or online, please [register][12] to help us
prepare. In anticipation of this year's event, you can read more about
why it's fun to participate in the conference on [Amin Bandali's blog
post][13]. Several volunteers have already signed up to help with the
organization of the event. You can help both online or in person, and
if you are eager to join them, please email <[email protected]>.

[11]: [link removed]
[12]: [link removed]
[13]: [link removed]

Yours in freedom,

Miriam Bastian
Program Manager

--
* Follow us on Mastodon at <[link removed]>, GNU social at
<[link removed]>, PeerTube at <[link removed]>, and on Twitter at @fsf.
* 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


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