Urgently asking for a € 10 contribution to support Mozilla programs in the face of U.S. government funding cuts

Hello,

Mozilla has always fought for an open, accessible internet that puts people in control of what happens online – no matter the obstacles. Today we need to share with you a significant obstacle we’re facing: We expect $3.55 million USD in funding for Mozilla’s work to be in jeopardy because of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s interference with U.S. government science and technology grants.1

Two of Mozilla’s flagship initiatives — the Responsible Computing Challenge, which helps educate computer scientists and technologists around the world about ethics in tech, and Mozilla Common Voice, the largest open, crowd-sourced speech recognition dataset — are core to our mission.2 These programs were supposed to receive millions in government funding over the next three years. Now, we don’t know if we’ll receive any investment.3

You need to know this: Mozilla is not backing down. We are already rebuilding our roadmap to continue these programs, even without the funding we were allocated. We are going to be nimble, responsive, and scrappy about it. But we can’t do it alone. That’s why today, we’re asking the Mozilla community to help ensure Mozilla can continue to work for technology that puts people first.

Last year, there were 100,558 people who contributed to Mozilla. That’s an incredible show of support. If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to donate, now is the time. Your donation will go to support programs like these that are crucial to advancing an open and accessible internet for all.

Make a €10 contribution to Mozilla today to help continue building crucial programs that train the next generation of technologists, ensure voice-enabled technology understands people from all backgrounds, and create an internet that puts people first.

Mozilla was founded with the values of the open source community, rooted in the idea that technology should be available to everyone to use, to modify, and to share. Open source technology helps make the internet into a public resource, not a walled garden.

We take that same idea about technology and apply it to people. The Responsible Computing Challenge is Mozilla's global education program, and Mozilla Common Voice is an open, crowd-sourced dataset for voice recognition technology. They're core to our mission because we believe that technology and the internet should be open and accessible to everyone, no matter who they are, where they live, or even how they speak.

These values are not choices made out of political expediency — they are core principles that drive everything we do. That’s why we are still committed to programs to fulfill that mission, despite the funding challenges ahead:

Our response is clear: We will keep moving forward. But to do that, we need the Mozilla community’s support more than ever.

That’s why today, we’re turning to people like you, who are a vital part of this community, to ask if you can donate today.

The strength of our movement has always come from people like you who believe in an open internet. If you’re in a position to do so, please make an urgent contribution of €10 to Mozilla today to help support critical programs like these that make the internet open and accessible to all.

Thank you for all that you do for the internet.

Michael Whitney
Director, Digital Engagement
Mozilla

More Information:

1. The Associated Press: Trump and Musk’s dismantling of government is shaking the foundations of US democracy. 5 February 2025.

2. Read more about Mozilla’s: Responsible Computing Challenge and Common Voice initiatives.

3. New York Times: Musk Says Trump Wants to Shut Down U.S. Foreign Aid Agency. 3 February 2025.

4. New York Times: Trump’s Attempt to Freeze Grant Funding Leaves Nonprofits Reeling. 4 February 2025.