http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/riseup-encrypted-communications-network-is-running-out-of-money-507990-2.png
[Riseup.net is a voluntary tech collective](https://riseup.net/en/about-us) that has been in operation since 1999.
I'm using my platform to help spread the word,  because according to a recent news report [they have encountered money issues and may be forced to close their doors soon](http://news.softpedia.com/news/riseup-encrypted-communications-network-is-running-out-of-money-507990.shtml).

_**We cannot allow this to happen!**_

The services that riseup provide are absolutely vital to the exercise of free speech in an increasingly surveillance oriented world.

Recently they sent out an email explaining that the are running out funds and this could put the whole project in danger.  Costs are higher because not only do they provide software, but also infrastructure and those costs have been far more than could be expected.

Quoting the linked article...
>Based on estimated costs, Riseup says it will be unable to pay for its services starting next month. Administrators are now asking users to donate at least $1, if possible.
The network, which provides free & secure email accounts, email lists, VPNs, and an online XMPP chat service, claims to service over 150,000 email accounts, 7.2 million users subscribed to over 14,000 email lists, and God knows how many XMPP users.
These are only a fraction of the total number of users Riseup has been servicing for free in the past 17 years.
Riseup has gained huge traction after the Snowden revelations, with many people flocking to the network because of its ability to provide anonymous and encrypted communications.

>Just like Tor, Riseup is popular with dissidents and criminals alike. In January 2015, Spanish authorities arrested eleven people just for using the service.

>It might seem inconsequential, but if you and every Riseup user gave us just one dollar, that would fix our current financial problem. 

The fact is that we now live in a world where you can now be considered guilty and forced to prove your innocence for merely associating with people *on the wrong side of those in power*.

https://riseup.net/en/about-us/politics/page10-1038-full_large.jpg

Riseup.net is something vital yet completely unsung.  I've been a silent supporter since they first began accepting bitcoins.  I support them because they provide tools for real social change to dissidents and conscientious objectors globally in order to promote a better world.

According to their own website, Riseup...
>provides online communication tools for people and groups working on liberatory social change. They are a project to create democratic alternatives and practice self-determination by controlling our own secure means of communications.

You know this anarchy, voluntaryism, ideal political stuff you keep talking about here?  
These guys [have been living it, for longer than many of the people reading this](https://riseup.net/en/about-us/politics) have been alive!

Steemit and Riseup both promote the same value systems.  But whereas steemit works well in countries where you can safely express yourself, Riseup is meant for change in countries where freedom of speech is actively suppressed.  They provide tools that work well in places where being an individual and speaking up can get your head chopped off by the local warlord.

I'm asking everyone who reads this to please go to [riseup.net](https://riseup.net/en/donate) and donate whatever you can to lend them some support. Every penny counts!
They take bitcoin right now, but I'm contacting them, inviting them to steemit,  I encourage [you to as well](https://user.riseup.net/forms/other_help/message).

In the meantime all SBD from this posting will also be sent directly to them as bitcoin when it comes in.

Riseup!  And be the change!

p.s.  It looks like there is also a user @riseup on steemit but he/she does not appear to be affiliated.