take in from our projects.  With over 1,000 Supporters, we can now sustain the basic

work and we will survive.  But to thrive, and handle the really complex tasks like

copyright and licensing advice, and license compliance, we need even more

resources.  That's why our final target is 2,500 Supporters.  If you use

or care about our <a href="/members/current/">member projects</a>, which

include some of the most widely used free software, you can help them all

by <a href="#donate-box" class="donate-now">signing up as a Supporter

today</a>.</p>

<h4>Fighting for the GPL</h4>

<a href="/img/gpl-heart.png" alt="We ♥ GPL"><img class="appeal-right"  src="/img/gpl-heart.png"/></a>

<p>Many consider our GPL compliance and enforcement controversial.   We don't

think it is:  we stand up for the GPL at the request of our member projects, 

the Debian community, and members of the Linux kernel community. 

Most recently, that has resulted in our funding

of the <a href="/news/2015/mar/05/vmware-lawsuit/">suit

against VMware</a>, which is the first lawsuit on derivative works and the

GPL (Christoph's case <a href="/news/2016/aug/09/vmware-appeal/">continues on appeal</a>). While this work is extremely important to the continued long-term

success of software freedom and copyleft, not to mention in the long-term 

interest of the industry as a whole, it makes fundraising from companies

very difficult.  Some companies 

have stopped funding us and some have even successfully pressured 

conferences to cancel or prevent talks on our compliance work. We do

this work because we think that it is good for everyone in the long run,

because we know it is the right thing to do, and because we know that we are

in the best position to do it. But that's not enough — you have to think it's

right too and <a href="#donate-box" class="donate-now">show us by

becoming a Supporter now</a>.</p>

<img alt="Photo of Conservancy t-Shirt that Supporters receive" class="appeal-left" src="/img/conservancy-t-shirt.jpg"/>

<h4>It's up to you</h4>

<p>Conservancy is deeply committed to supporting, promoting, developing, and

defending free and open source software.  We pursue our mission on various

fronts, and we're proud of what we've been able to accomplish in 2016.  To

do even more in 2017 and in the years to come, we need your help.</p>

<p>We believe 2017 will be a critical year for Conservancy, our member

projects, and our work.  We look forward to making huge strides in providing

software tools for public charities as well as services for developer 

communities.  We will continue to champion the rights of the public and the

interests of copyright holders who have licensed their contributions to the 

commons for the public's benefit.  We will continue to host and speak at

conferences, create and maintain educational resources, and raise awareness

about how free and open source software is essential to a free and open

<p>While we appreciate our corporate donors, we simply cannot depend 

solely on grants from companies who may not find our mission to be 

compatible with shifting corporate strategies.  We need you, the public as

well.  Simply put, we need 2,500 Supporters in order to maintain our staff, 

continue to provide a full range of administrative, bookkeeping, and legal

services to our member projects, educate the public, <strong>and</strong>

undertake compliance efforts.  We hope you will <a href="#donate-box" class="donate-now">sign up as a Supporter</a> to help us achieve this. If we don't reach our goal, we will 

have no choice but to hibernate some of our activities — likely 

our compliance efforts — until we have the resources to resume them

properly at some point in the future.</p>

<img class="appeal-footer" alt="Supporters ♥ Conservancy" src="/img/conservancy-supporter-heart.png"/>

<p>If you care about Conservancy's mission, <a href="#donate-box" 

class="donate-now">help us meet our goal</a> so we can stand up for software

freedom together.</p>

<p>Please <a href="#donate-box" class="donate-now">join our Supporter program</a> 

and spread the word!</p>

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