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Free Software Foundation

Free Software Foundation
AbbreviationFSF
FormationOctober 4, 1985 (1985-10-04)[1]
FounderRichard Stallman
Type501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Legal status501(c)(3)
PurposeComputer User Freedom (see Free software movement)
HeadquartersRemote work[2]
Region served
Worldwide
MembershipIndividuals
President
Geoffrey Knauth
Executive director
Zoë Kooyman[3]
Revenue$1,149,602[4] (2020)
Expenses$1,809,358[4] (2020)
Staff13[5]
Websitewww.fsf.org

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman[6] on October 4, 1985. The organization supports the free software movement, with its preference for software being distributed under copyleft ("share alike") terms,[7] such as with its own GNU General Public License.[8] The FSF was incorporated in Boston[9] where it is also based.[10]

From its founding until the mid-1990s, FSF's funds were mostly used to employ software developers to write free software for the GNU Project[11] and its employees and volunteers have mostly worked on legal and structural issues for the free software movement and the free software community.[which?] Consistent with its goals, the FSF aims to use only free software on its own computers.[12]

The FSF holds the copyrights on many pieces of the GNU system, such as GNU Compiler Collection. As the holder of these copyrights, it has authority to enforce the copyleft requirements of the GNU General Public License (GPL) when copyright infringement occurs.[citation needed] The FSF is also the steward of several free software licenses, meaning it publishes them and has the ability to make revisions as needed.[13]

  1. ^ "Corporations Division Entity Summary for ID Number: 042888848". Secretary of Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  2. ^ "Join us in saying goodbye to our beloved office on August 16! — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. Free Software Foundation. August 5, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  3. ^ "Free Software Foundation announces new executive director, Zoë Kooyman — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". fsf.org. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Roberts, Brandon; Schwencke, Ken; Tigas, Mike; Wei, Sisi; Glassford, Alec; Suozzo, Andrea (May 9, 2013). "Free Software Foundation Inc – Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  5. ^ "Staff of the Free Software Foundation". Archived from the original on November 24, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  6. ^ Corrado, Edward M.; Moualison Sandy, Heather; Mitchell, Erik T. (July 3, 2018). "Nullis in Verba: The Free Software Movement as a model for Openness and Transparency". Technical Services Quarterly. 35 (3): 269–279. doi:10.1080/07317131.2018.1456849. ISSN 0731-7131. S2CID 196159979. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions about the GNU Licenses". Free Software Foundation. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  8. ^ "What Is Copyleft?". Free Software Foundation. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  9. ^ "Free Software Foundation, Boston, United States". bizpages.org. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  10. ^ "FREE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION, INC. Summary Screen". The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013.
  11. ^ Stallman, Richard (May 29, 2001). "Free Software: Freedom and Cooperation". www.gnu.org. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  12. ^ Stallman, Richard M. (2002). "Linux, GNU, and freedom". Philosophy of the GNU Project. GNU Project. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2006.
  13. ^ "Licenses". Free Software Foundation. Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
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