Happy Birthday to us

This week is KDE’s 29th anniversary. It may not be a nice round number like 25 or 30, but whenever another birthday rolls around for an independent project the size and scope of KDE — powered by the goodwill of its contributors and users — that’s really quite something!

This year we’re celebrating by kicking off our yearly fundraiser. Let’s raise at least €50,000 before the end of the year!

Donated (updated daily)

^*Stretch goal coming soon.

Make KDE’s Birthday Wishes Come True

Producing first-class software

KDE is on the verge of something big, and the popularity of its free software is on the rise. It’s increasingly being adopted by gamers, artists, professionals, companies, and public institutions. But the costs associated with developing and maintaining that software are also growing.

Your donation keeps KDE “in business” and our software sustainable for generations to come.

Keeping you in control

A core aim of KDE is keeping you in control of your digital life, and we do it by providing high-quality and privacy-conscious free software. But we can only keep doing it by preserving our own financial independence, so that we never become too dependent on any single source of support.

Your donation makes KDE truly independent. Funding from the people allows us keep KDE developed by the people, of the people, and for the people.

Cleaning up the world

This week is also International E-Waste Day, and KDE wants a clean planet too! We started the End of 10 campaign because big tech corporations continue pushing everyone to chase the new shiny… in the process filling landfills with perfectly functional devices that become terrible sources of pollution when junked^*.

Your donation allows us to inform everybody about how they can help stave off these environmental disasters.

^* Case in point: Microsoft is stopping free support for Windows 10 on hundreds of millions of computers this very week. Many of these old yet perfectly usable devices will not be able to upgrade because of spurious hardware requirements. Microsoft’s solution? “Throw away your computer and pollute the planet because we want to make even more money.”

Reaching people the tech industry left behind

Many aren’t in a position to replace their devices every few years, or download hundreds of gigabyes of data from an always-on internet connection. KDE produces software that doesn’t need the latest hardware or an always-on internet connection, allowing everybody find their space in the digitized world.

Your donation helps KDE serve those who are ignored by the industry, and bring marginalized users into the community so they can help the project grow for everyone.

Helping public institutions adopt free software

The governments of the world are starting to realize that using public funds to lock themselves into proprietary closed-source software has been a strategic geopolitical mistake.

Free software is publicly owned, representing the safest option for governments that want full control over their machines and safety for their citizens’ data. But often the standards required for software approval by public institutions is very high, and their needs very specific.

Your donation helps KDE adapt our software to what public institutions require, clearing the way for your tax dollars to fund KDE, not some big foreign companies.

Images "Konqi opens the magic box", ""Katie and Konqi make software", "Katie and Konqi take on the public administration" CC-BY-SA-4.0 license by Arctaxia. "Katie & Konqi recyle" CC-BY-SA-4.0 license by Nezumi Cafuné.

Goodies

Don’t forget to download your goodies after you donated! Get digital badges, printable cards, and more.