2023

UPDATE: Happy New Year!

As we welcome the new year, we're thrilled to share some incredible news that is a testament to the generosity and commitment of all our members.

Thanks to your support, we have not only met but exceeded our year-end giving goal for 2023. We'd hoped to raise $50,000 in December, to continue our work providing digital privacy tools, services and advocacy for free to everyone online. We actually surpassed that goal, and raised $84,830 in new memberships and donations during our campaign! Everyone at the Calyx Institute is grateful for your decision to stand with us. We wish you all a happy and healthy new year.

Welcome our Year-End Giving Campaign! At this time of year-end reflection, gratitude and generosity, we hope you will join us in protecting privacy and free speech online. Together, we can make digital privacy more accessible for everyone.

This campaign will help us continue funding some of the projects we're most excited about, like providing meet.calyx.net, a free videoconferencing service with no log-ins and no time limits; funding the Global Gathering's Equity Fund to help break down financial barriers for digital rights activists from marginalized communities; and developing CalyxOS as a privacy-focused smartphone operating system for anyone who wants to enjoy their phone AND their privacy too.

How can you help?

Become a Member: Signing up for a Calyx Institute membership is the best way that you can support our work and enjoy the benefits of being part of our mission! Become a member by clicking here and we'll send you a gift to thank you for your vital ongoing support.

Donate: Your financial support is crucial to the success of our mission. Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to reaching our goal.

See if your employer offers a donation match: You can double the impact of your gift instantly if your employer matches your donation. Check to see if your employer participates in donation matching here.

Spread the Word: Share our campaign on social media, through email, or by word of mouth. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to join us in making a difference!

Your contribution will not only help us reach our fundraising goal but will also create a ripple effect of positive change for privacy and free expression online. Thank you for continuing to support us and believe in our mission!

UPDATE: Sustainer hotspot signups are open again, and we are fully stocked on both Sustainer and Contributor level hotspots. The Contributor Plus level of membership is not available for signup at this time while we evaluate a potential new hotspot offering for that membership level. Thank you so much for bearing with us!

Supply chain delays have slowed down our latest restock of Mifi X Pro hotspots, so new membership sign-ups and replacement Mifi X Pro orders are temporarily paused while we restock our supplies and fill current orders. We expect to have these devices back in stock within the next few weeks, so please stay tuned for updates. Thanks so much for bearing with us!

We are excited to announce that Sustainer memberships will now come with a brand new device: the Inseego Mifi X PRO 5G (M3000B)! Like the Mifi M2000, this hotspot supports 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 6, Advanced Carrier Aggregation, USB tethering, and has an internal 4x4 MIMO antenna. In addition, this new device features a 1 Gbps ethernet port and a battery preservation mode that allows the device to stay plugged in for longer. As with all Calyx Membership hotspots, wifi data is unlimited and unthrottled.

Sign up for a new Sustainer membership to get a Mifi X Pro 5G hotspot + a year of unlimited data. A new Sustainer membership is $750 for the first year and $500 to renew every following year.

If you are in the middle of your membership period, you also have the option to order the Mifi X Pro 5G as a replacement device for a $400 donation. Just log in to your account with us, click Devices, and then click Order Replacement Device.

Before you decide if a Sustainer membership is right for you, check your area on T Mobile’s map to make sure you have adequate 5G coverage. As with all our memberships, the Calyx Institute cannot offer test hotspots or offer refunds if service is inadequate or non-existent. Our wireless hotspots and data plans are offered as a thank you gift to member donors who support our research into privacy protecting communications technology, and are not a commercial transaction.

You can read more about the Mifi X Pro 5G hotspot here. If there are any other questions we can answer for you about our memberships or the hotspots we offer as membership premiums, please let us know at help@calyxinstitute.org.

The Calyx Institute is excited to announce an open call for applications for grants up to $10,000 from our Fusion Center Microgrants Fund. Details can be found here.

We are interested in supporting projects focused on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to: the disproportionate impact of fusion center surveillance; gang databases and other watchlists used by fusion centers; public records focused research to illuminate fusion center policies and practices; research on one specific fusion center or on fusion centers nationally; or other ideas we haven't even considered yet. You and/or your colleagues are the experts on this, so tell us what research needs doing!

The application deadline is March 17th, 2023. Please share with any colleagues or allied organizations that might be interested. We are prioritizing applications from smaller organizations that aren't receiving regular support from traditional funders in this space. Fusion Centers do a lot, but this fund is focused on online privacy and surveillance specifically.

Because our funding comes from our small donor members, we are not beholden to the reporting requirements of a larger funder upstream for this fund. That means that while there is paperwork and a final grant report required, we've tried really hard to minimize the amount of time spent on administering the grant. A list of previously funded projects is available here.