Ever since its inception, the internet has been under constant threat of surveillance, censorship, and misinformation. Realizing the need for secure and robust internet, several organizations have stepped up to protect your privacy and freedom of speech.
To play your part in protecting this great resource, you can donate to these 11 nonprofit organizations that are working for a better, secure internet.
1. Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation is a nonprofit, running various projects, most notably Wikipedia. Wikipedia itself is such a gigantic source of information, maintained mostly by volunteers.
Besides Wikipedia, the Wikimedia Foundation runs other projects to ensure access to information. Some of these are Wikinews, Wikisource, Wiktionary, and Wikimedia Commons. To support its mission, you can give a one-time donation or set up a monthly one. The donations are used for upgrading the platform and paying salaries to its employees.
Though Wikipedia has millions in its bank account, the cost of running and developing such a site is gigantic. So if you find it helpful, consider chipping in your support.
2. Internet Archive
Internet Archive is a gigantic digital library that aims to provide free access to knowledge. From books and websites to audio and videos, you can find everything here.
It hosts Wayback Machine, a popular tool to archive and view old versions of web pages. This tool particularly comes in handy when you want to save a webpage for future reference. For instance, lawyers can archive pages here that they fear might become unavailable in the future.
The cost of running such a project is quite high. To give an idea, Internet Archive has around 99 petabytes (99 million gigabytes) of data, including records of over 715 billion web pages alone.
So, the organization relies on donations to cover its expenses. Internet Archive accepts donations through PayPal, Google Pay, credit cards, wire, mail, and even cryptocurrencies.
3. Freenet
Freenet is a P2P communication and publishing network that aims to protect the freedom of speech. The decentralized network encrypts the information, protecting the sender's identity and the contents of the message.
Thanks to Freenet, you can use anonymous forums, emails, and websites. You can contribute one-time or recurring payments via PayPal. There's an option for donating Bitcoin too. If you aren’t interested in direct donations, you can consider buying merchandise from its store.
4. Tor Project
Tor Project strives to provide open access to the internet and information. The Tor Browser can help you get rid of trackers, censorship, and surveillance, thanks to onion routing.
You can help Tor Project by sending your contributions through PayPal, credit card, or cryptocurrency. It will send you a gift for your donation, but you may opt out. And if you want to get started with using Tor, you can read our guide on how Tor and onion routing works.
5. Fight for the Future
Fight for the Future is a nonprofit, fighting against all attempts to undermine the freedom and neutrality of the internet.
For almost a decade, the organization has undertaken various campaigns against using technology for censorship. Some of the most popular campaigns were against facial recognition, the crypto ban, and SOPA and PIPA legislations.
You can donate through PayPal, Venmo, credit cards, check, and cryptocurrency. Similarly, you can donate in the form of securities and stocks.
6. Mozilla Foundation
Mozilla Foundation is well-known for its privacy-focused browser, Firefox. According to its manifesto, the nonprofit works to ensure the accessibility and inclusivity of the internet. Besides advocating for free internet, Mozilla conducts social activities and research. It provides funds and mentorship to other projects working for a safer private web.
The minimum donation amount is $2, with the option for one-time or recurring donations. Besides paying, you can help the foundation by signing the petitions on its site.
7. Privacy International
Founded in 1990, Privacy International vows to protect your privacy, protesting the misuse of technology by governments and tech companies.
Over the years, Privacy International has achieved several victories, forcing companies and countries to respect online privacy and freedom. Besides running campaigns and petitions, it conducts research and pursues legal action.
You can donate through PayPal Giving Fund, AmazonSmile, bank transfer, and Payroll giving.
8. Open Source Initiative
Open Source Initiative is a non-profit organization that promotes open-source software.
Formed in 1998, the foundation has coined the phrase “open source”, defined open source software, and published several open source licenses. OSI is recognized by various countries, companies, and nonprofits.
Open Source Initiative accepts donations via PayPal. You can set up recurring monthly or yearly payments.
9. Internet Society
Internet Society’s motto is simple: Build, Promote, and Defend the Internet. The nonprofit was founded in 1992 and has been striving for an open and secure internet ever since.
The organization has trained people and operators to provide secure routing and opened numerous internet exchange points across the world. It also provides grants to other organizations for strengthening the internet and conducting research.
You can support the organization by donating through credit card, PayPal Giving fund, AmazonSmile, and check.
10. Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation is one of the most renowned nonprofits advocating for internet privacy.
Besides campaigning, the foundation has publicly accessible tools for protecting your privacy. These include browser extensions for protecting you against unencrypted connections, trackers, etc.
The Atlas of Surveillance maintains a record of technology and devices used by police agencies across the US. Similarly, Surveillance-Self Defense guides you about spying eyes and how to avoid them.
Although EFF accepts donations through cards and PayPal, there are many other ways to donate, including stocks, cars, and crypto.
11. Internet Security Research Group
Internet Security Research Group works to make the internet a safer and more secure place.
Let’s Encrypt is ISRG’s most popular project. It provides free TLS certifications to websites to ensure the encryption of the connection and the safety of your data.
Similarly, Divvi Up is a groundbreaking project that provides user statistics without sacrificing the privacy of users. Besides the common payment methods, you can support it via Donorbox, stocks, and cryptocurrency.
Leave a Secure, Strong Internet for Future Generations
If you’re reading this, you benefit from the internet in one way or the other. Perhaps it’s worth chipping in a few bucks to protect it from the meddling of governments and big tech firms.
All the above-mentioning organizations are striving for a secure and improved internet. Some focus on campaigning for your rights, while others provide necessary tools to battle censorship, tracking, and surveillance.