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Freedom Food: FSFE to cook for its donors

For this year's round of fund-raising, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) has cooked up something special. The biggest donor of 2009 will share a cooking session with FSFE's President and other members of the organisation's executive team. FSFE is looking to raise 100,000 Euro during the last quarter of 2009.

Free Software and cooking are both about creativity, skill and enjoying yourself. "Recipes can be used for any purpose, including sharing them with others, and making your own improvements. In these respects cooking is just like Free Software - you have the freedom to use, study, share and improve" says FSFE's President Karsten Gerloff.

FSFE has been working for the Free Software community in Europe and beyond since 2001. Thanks to its supporters, the organisation has been able to break proprietary monopolies , defend European developers and users against software patents, and build the Freedom Task Force into Europe's foremost expert group on legal aspects of Free Software.

Many threats continue to face Free Software however - and FSFE continues to fight against them. Computer users in Europe are forced to use proprietary software on a daily basis. Closed standards build walls that restrict Free Software and its users. Interoperability in the European public sector is under attack, as proprietary software companies continue to push their agendas in Europe and around the world.

These are just a few of the issues that donors are entitled to discuss with senior FSFE staff. "A lot of us at FSFE are passionate hobby chefs. We are looking forward to sharing a creative time with supporters of Free Software," says Gerloff.

The fine print

• Qualifying donations must be received between January 1 2009 and December 31 2009.
• A European location for the cooking event will be determined by discussion with the selected donor.
• At least two senior FSFE staff will cook for (and happily dine with) up to four persons chosen by the selected donor.
• Costs for accommodation and travel to the location of the dinner will be borne by FSFE.
• The list of the top three donors will be published on this website and updated regularly.