27 Jan 2012 mattl   » (Journeyer)

And now for some completely different ways to give to the FSF

Of course, the most obvious way to give money to the FSF is to become an associate member -- associate members are individuals who make scheduled financial contributions to support our work. In return, they get some benefits, and we get to keep doing what we do.

But that's not the only way people give money to the FSF!

  • You probably already know about online donations made with a credit or debit card, but did you know the FSF also accepts payments via PayPal? Not only that, but did you know we even worked with PayPal a couple of years ago to change their conditions, to remove proprietary software? You can even become an associate member, using PayPal, and pay us each month from your regular bank account.

  • Don't forget, many employers offer donation matching schemes -- you might be missing out on a way to increase, and in many cases double, your contribution, just through your employer.

  • If you use credit cards, you might like to consider signing up for a card that sponsors the FSF -- we get $50 when you do, as well as 0.3% of all the retail transactions you make with the card. Of course, credit cards are not a decision to make lightly, since they can involve loss of privacy and increased debt, so think carefully before getting one.

  • Along those lines, if you have a VISA card you can donate via the VISA Giving Program.

  • Do you have a car you no longer use, because it's trapped under a mountain of snow, or that you just don't use anymore now that you've switched to GNU/Linux because you're no longer driving to the electronics store to get viruses taken off your computer? We'll take it! We've partnered up with a company that'll take your old car at no cost to you -- and when they sell it, you'll get a tax receipt for the value.

  • Did you get any unwanted presents for Christmas this year? Do you really need to hang on to that "ULTRA R@RE!!!" VHS copy of Dunston Checks In? If now is a good time to clear some junk from your life, why not sell it on eBay? If you sell your item via eBay Giving Works you can donate a percentage (from 5% to 100%) of your eBay sale direct to the FSF! To get things going, you can buy something from this box of OpenMoko FreeRunner spares we found in a closet at the office. I'm going to try and convince people in the FSF office to sell some of their own unwanted gifts too.

  • Do you ever wish the FSF could be at more events around the world? Well, you can donate your unwanted frequent flyer miles to us! This is actually a little complicated, and unfortunately not tax-deductible, but contact us and our resident frequent flyer expert (that's John Sullivan) will figure out the rest.

  • Associate members get a 20% discount on FSF merchandise and free entry to the LibrePlanet 2012 conference in March. If you're not a member yet, you're missing out on all the extra goodies you can buy... don't have every one of our books, every t-shirt and every sticker? I hope you'll also get yourself a stuffed gnu toy or two, a couple of signed art prints, some buttons, a keychain, a pin for your shirt collar, one of our hooded sweatshirts and a selection of our finest reference cards. Instant geek cred can be yours at http://shop.fsf.org/!

  • Popmoney and Flattr are new ways to give us a little (or a lot) of money quickly.

  • If BitCoin's your thing, 1PC9aZC4hNX2rmmrt7uHTfYAS3hRbph4UN will be of use to you. Note that since we are using a single address for receiving all contributions, we are not providing full anonymity. Further, we support the idea of people being able to donate anonymously, but we can't speak to the security or soundness of Bitcoin in the long-term.

  • If you work in the kind of place where bringing all your GNU Press books and shirts to work is a fun thing to do, maybe you work at a place that should be featured on our list of Corporate Patrons, too?

  • If you're already working for one of our Corporate Patrons, you probably have job openings at your company. You should prod your HR department to list them on our job board, the only Web site that lists exclusively free software jobs. We know this can be a great resource, and we just need a little more help to get it going.

  • Finally, many companies have donation schemes via their local United Way offices -- if yours does, you can donate to the FSF!

We've added many new ways to give money recently, but we're sure there are other ways we haven't even considered yet. If you have an idea, let us know at donate@fsf.org.

Thanks for your support!

Syndicated 2012-01-26 22:36:55 from Free Software Foundation

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