The Proton community donated over $600,000 to Reporters Without Borders

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Thank you. There is no other way to start. The generosity of the Proton community continues to shine through and surpass all expectations. Thanks to you, our 2021 Lifetime Account Charity Fundraiser raised $514,910. We at Proton are contributing an additional $100,000, which means RSF will receive a total donation of $614,910 to carry out its vital work.

The Proton community’s willingness to support organizations fighting for a more free and just world continues to be breathtaking. And it is all the more important this year as society is still dealing with the Covid pandemic. Year after year, you have proven that not only do you want to live in a better world, you are willing to contribute to the hard work of making it a reality. 

The winning Lifetime account raffle tickets are:

  • 65279575
  • 70791402
  • 36754781
  • 85944540
  • 39268998
  • 58581322

Please check the email you received from the Proton Shop to see if your raffle ticket number(s) match.

We will contact the winners in the coming weeks to present them with their Lifetime account as well as a special gift from the Proton team.

You can also watch Andy Yen, our CEO and founder, and Bart Butler, our CTO, explain the history of our fundraiser and announce the winning tickets.

About the Proton Lifetime Account Charity Fundraiser

This is the fourth annual charity fundraiser we have held. In 2018(new window), we raised $45,000, in 2019(new window), we raised over $60,000, and the 2020 fundraiser(new window) raised over $300,000. When you add in our 2020 campaign to support internet freedom in Hong Kong(new window), the Proton community has donated over $1 million to defend freedom on the internet and around the world over the past four years. 

Thank you to everyone who bought tickets for this year’s raffle. RSF will receive 100% of the proceeds from this year’s raffle (and Proton’s additional $100,000 contribution), allowing them to protect and support more journalists as they report on critical news stories around the world. 

To the winners of this year’s raffle — congratulations! You will receive a Lifetime account, our most exclusive Proton plan, which gives you access to all current and future Proton products forever. Lifetime accounts are also transferable, and in the past, they have sold for over $10,000. 

We stand with journalists everywhere

A free and independent press is essential to preserving democracy and ensuring human rights are being respected. Fair, accurate, and responsible reporting can identify abuses of power and be the catalyst for important change. This is why journalists around the world have been subject to threats, intimidation, and violence.

RSF is a non-partisan organization that supports journalists from across the political spectrum to ensure they are able to safely report the truth. The RSF team trains journalists on how to stay safe in dangerous environments, offers logistical support to journalists with tech questions, and provides financial aid to journalists that have suffered reprisals for their reporting.

Our donation will help ensure that journalists worldwide receive the training and support they need to safely report their stories. Our support for RSF is part of our tradition of defending the freedom of expression and individual liberties when they come under threat, as we have done in Belarus, Hong Kong, and Myanmar. And this donation is just the start. We are proud partners with RSF(new window), and we will be working with the RSF team throughout 2022.

While this year’s charity fundraiser is over, you can always donate directly to RSF to support the vital work journalists do every day.

You make all this possible

Once again, thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s fundraiser and to the entire Proton community. You have enabled us to fight for an internet where privacy is the default, and you are helping us change the world for the better. This has been another challenging year, but your generosity helped us end it on a high note. 

For everyone from Proton and RSF, thank you one last time, and here is to a joyful 2022!

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Richie Koch

Prior to joining Proton, Richie spent several years working on tech solutions in the developing world. He joined the Proton team to advance the rights of online privacy and freedom.

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