At the end of May, I'll mark one year in my post as Creative Commons CEO. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. We've had several really significant wins, but we've also had a very difficult year, and there are more challenges ahead. Today, CC licenses are the global standard for sharing and open content publishing. But that's just the first step: we need to connect creators and collaborators to bring that content to life; inspire a culture of gratitude and engagement between creators and re-users; and make the commons more discoverable, useful, and vital to realize the benefits of free culture and open knowledge: access, equity, and innovation. The future of the Commons is at risk. Content is locked up behind copyright extensions, barricaded behind the walled gardens of social networks, and restrained by well-funded lobbyists and a few big publishers that want to put profits before public interests on publicly-funded research, content and data. Access to education has never been more important, and the value of public research and data was never more clear. And despite the enormous success of CC's licenses — nearly 1 billion licensed works already — our organization has struggled financially. This year, despite running the most successful fundraising campaign in our history — a 55 percent increase over last year's campaign, from individuals like you — we have also had to make some difficult budget cuts, reducing our staff by almost a third. That's fewer staff for our partners and supporters to rely on to support our work in science, education, policy, outreach, and supporting license users. Today, Creative Commons is a leader in the most important open movements around the world: open education and textbooks, open access to research in science and the humanities, and open data, to name a few. We support volunteer chapters in over 80 countries, working with governments, institutions, and individuals to grow and share the commons. Our work is essential, accomplished by a small team of less than 20 full- and part-time staff around the world. Last fall, we developed a new strategy together to focus on the next phase of our work: to build on the growing archive of shared works to create a vibrant, engaged, and useful commons for everyone. Together with our partners, volunteers, and funders, we identified four strategic goals: Without the help of our supporters, we won't achieve these goals. In 2015, we have set a target to raise $750,000 in funding from new revenue sources. For an organization with our reach, it may seem small, but for CC it's an aggressive goal. Today, we are launching a 10-day fundraising drive. It's crucial we raise $50,000 to be on track to reach our larger goal of $750,000 by the end of the year. Will you help secure the future of the Commons by contributing $25 to kickstart this fundraising campaign? In the coming days, I'll share more with you about our plans to implement our four strategic goals, and discuss how we will achieve them — together. Best, Ryan |