blog.torproject.org
Free the Internet: The Tor Project’s annual fundraiser
Is the internet today the internet you want for future generations? What if instead of for-profit greed, rampant privacy violations, and pervasive government spying, we could have a different relationship with the internet?
What if we could FREE THE INTERNET from the chains of surveillance and censorship?
At the Tor Project, along with our incredible community of supporters, we're not just imagining a free internet — **we're building it** :
* In countries like Turkmenistan where access to information is tightly controlled, Turkmen.news trusts Tor to provide safe access to the free internet where it once did not exist.
* Freedom of the Press Foundation uses Tor as the backbone of SecureDrop, a tool that allows journalists and sources to communicate freely without fear of retaliation or exposure.
* In Russia and Egypt, where authorities often block encrypted tools to control communications, individuals use Tor Browser to access encrypted email services like Tuta Mail to freely communicate.
Tor is a building block for a free internet, and it takes our collective efforts to improve and amplify it. That’s why during the next three months, the Tor Project will be holding a fundraising campaign during which we ask for your support to advance digital freedom.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Tor Project relies on donations to power its tools – the Tor network, Tor Browser, Tails OS, and the Tor ecosystem. These tools are trusted by millions and always **free** to use, without collecting, selling, trading, or renting any of your data for profit.
This year we are calling to **FREE THE INTERNET** by supporting Tor. If you give now during the campaign, your donation will be matched by our supporters at Power Up Privacy. This means a $25 donation will have a $50 impact – and all donations over $25 will qualify you for fun Tor merchandise. 👀
In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, 84% of our expenses were associated with program services. That means that a very significant portion of our budget goes directly into building Tor and making it better. Those program services include building Tor technology, conducting outreach, and keeping Tor tools up-to-date and secure. We are proud to have a Four-Star Charity rating from Charity Navigator, and have been awarded Candid’s Platinum Seal of Transparency. This demonstrates the Tor Project’s commitment to openness and honesty in how the organization manages its finances and uses your investment for a greater impact.
Join us in being defiant against profit-driven tech tools and keeping Tor tools FREE, private, and accessible. Your support today helps build a better internet for tomorrow.
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To learn more about how Tor is freeing the internet from surveillance and censorship, and how we are putting charitable donations to work, please tune into our annual _State of the Onion_ virtual event to learn more. Save these dates and make your donation today!
# Upcoming events
* **State of the Onion – the Tor Project (Wednesday, November 12)**
* The State of the Onion is the Tor Project's annual virtual event where we share updates from the Tor Project and the Tor community. The event on November 12 will focus on the Tor Project and the organization’s work.
* 📺 Stream live on our YouTube channel
* **State of the Onion – Community (Wednesday, December 10)**
* The State of the Onion is the Tor Project's annual virtual event where we share updates from the Tor Project and the Tor community. The event on December 10 will be a special day celebrating the UN’s adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 as well.
* 📺 Stream live on our YouTube channel
# Ways to contribute
* **Make a donation** : Donate through our website (or any other method listed on our FAQ and your donation will be matched, 1:1, up to $250,000.
* **Ask the company you work for if they will match your donation** : Many corporations will match their employees’ donations to charitable organizations. Ask at work if your company will match your gift.
* **Share on social media** : Let the people in your networks know that all donations to the Tor Project are currently being matched. You can easily share a post from our social channels: Mastodon, Bluesky, X, and more.
* **Subscribe to Tor News** : No ads. No tracking. Just low-traffic Tor updates via email.
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# 1:1 Match provided by Power Up Privacy
Power Up Privacy is matching all donations to the Tor Project between now and December 31, 2025. Power Up Privacy is an advocacy group that funds privacy-related research and development projects. They seek to make maximum impact by identifying key, underfunded areas in the privacy software ecosystem and injecting resources, financial and otherwise, in order to strengthen the necessary infrastructure we need to preserve freedom and human rights.
