Step up and become a Friend of GNOME today

[Molly de Blanc <mdeblanc gnome org>]

Hi Friends, Supporters, and GNOMEies,

The [GNOME project][1] is built by a vibrant community and supported by
the GNOME Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity registered in
California (USA). The GNOME community has spent more than 20 years
creating a desktop environment designed for the user. We‘re asking you
to step up for GNOME and become [Friend of GNOME][2]. We're working to
have 100 new Friends of GNOME join by January 6, 2020.

[1]: https://gnome.org
[2]:
https://us.commitchange.com/ca/orinda/gnome-foundation/campaigns/2019-friends-of-gnome-drive


The GNOME Foundation was founded in 2000, to support the activities of
the GNOME project and our goal of building a desktop environments that
respects the freedom of every user, developer, and contributor. We
continue to make great strides towards this.

2019 has been an exciting year for us with the expansion of the
Foundation‘s staff and efforts: 

    * We had three [wildly][3] [successful][4] [conferences][5],
[thirteen hackfests][6], and newcomer events to help people make their
first contributions to GNOME.
    * We sponsored [three amazing Outreachy interns][7] and mentored
[eight additional students][8] through Google Summer of Code. 
    * There were numerous technical successes, including updates to
[GTK][9], new releases of the [desktop environment][10], and
infrastructure improvements. 
    * We introduced an [Inclusion and Diversity team][11] in order to
make the GNOME community a more welcoming place. 
    * We were excited to announce the [Coding Education Challenge][12]. 
    * The [Travel Committee][13] sponsored numerous speakers and
contributors to support their work in GNOME, through providing travel
funding for hackfests, conferences, and speaking opportunities.
    * We had speakers and booths at conferences in Asia, Europe, North
America, and South America. 

[3]: https://2019.guadec.org/
[4]: https://2019.gnome.asia/
[5]: https://linuxappsummit.org/
[6]: https://wiki.gnome.org/Hackfests/
[7]: https://wiki.gnome.org/Outreach/Outreachy
[8]: https://wiki.gnome.org/Outreach/SummerOfCode/2019/Projects
[9]: https://www.gtk.org/
[10]: https://www.gnome.org/news/2019/09/gnome-3-34-released/
[11]:
https://blogs.gnome.org/engagement/2019/08/02/welcome-to-the-inclusion-and-diversity-team-at-gnome/

[12]:
https://www.gnome.org/news/2019/08/gnome-foundation-launches-coding-education-challenge/

[13]: https://wiki.gnome.org/Travel

This year has not been without challenges. Most notably, October brought
with it [allegations of patent infringement][14] from Rothschild Patent
Imaging, Ltd. Rather than settling or backing down, we are [taking this
fight as far as we have to][15] in order to say that patent trolls have
no place in free software. This effort is something we'll be carrying
forward into the coming year.

[14]:
https://www.gnome.org/news/2019/09/gnome-foundation-facing-lawsuit-from-rothschild-patent-imaging/

[15]:
https://www.gnome.org/news/2019/10/gnome-files-defense-against-patent-troll/


Looking ahead to 2020, we already have a lot going on in addition to our
patent case. There's kicking off the GNOME Coding Education Challenge in
order to expand the tools we have available to learn and teach. We will
be seriously expanding our accessibility efforts, and are currently
planning an accessibility audit and making plans for updates to the
[Orca screen reader][16]. We've already started planning [GUADEC
2020][17], which will bring us to our first North American GUADEC in
Zacatecas, Mexico. We have a GNOME.Asia in the works. There will be more
hackfests and newcomer events, intern and mentorship opportunities, and
constant efforts to work on, for, and with the community. We'll do all
of this while upholding the standards of technical excellence you have
come to expect from the GNOME project, building software for people of
every country with every level of ability.

[16]: https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/Orca
[17]: https://www.gnome.org/news/2019/11/guadec-2020-announcement/

The GNOME Foundation supports the work of the GNOME community, and we
need your help to keep going. We're working on the future, not just of
how you interact with your computer, but the future of free software and
we want you to join us. Step up for GNOME! You can become a [Friend of
GNOME][18], to support us on either an annual or monthly basis. We ask
for a minimum donation of $10/month, and recommend $25 a month ($5 for
students). Every donation comes with a Thank You postcard from a GNOME
hacker and a discount on GNOME swag when you find our booth at a
conference. For $30 a month, you can get a subscription to [LWN][19]. If
you donate $500 or more on an annual basis, you'll get a wonderful Thank
You note especially from executive director Neil McGovern.

[18]:
https://us.commitchange.com/ca/orinda/gnome-foundation/campaigns/2019-friends-of-gnome-drive

[19]: https://lwn.net

We're bringing software freedom to the desktop. We‘re developing a safe,
secure, accessible desktop environment for everyone; building a global
community of contributors; and fostering the next generation of free and
open source software contributors. By [becoming a Friend of GNOME][20]
you are becoming a part of that.

[20]:
https://us.commitchange.com/ca/orinda/gnome-foundation/campaigns/2019-friends-of-gnome-drive


Cheers,

Andrea, Bart, Emmanuele, Kristi, Molly, Neil, and Rosanna

The GNOME Foundation