Hello friend,

Our work evolves in parallel with the technology landscape that shifts seismically around us.

Increasingly we help nonprofits and activists understand and navigate the paradoxes inherent in the technology we all use.

As corporate cloud platforms loom ubiquitous, we have watched as too many organizations, including ourselves, wrestle with vexing trade-offs:

...Trading utility for privacy: the tools that work "seamlessly" and "elegantly" "on any device" are also the tools that surveil your every click, keystroke and location.

...Trading availability for autonomy: to access data "from anywhere", we store it with companies who don't share our values or our goals, but who willingly share that data with authorities, mine it for profit, and can cut us off from it at any time.

...Trading control for cost: "free", as in "put your data up as collateral", too often wins out over "agency", as in "invest in what it actually costs to steward your data".

Aspiration strives to help organizations and activists control their technology destiny by making informed decisions about tools and data, within the constraints of limited time and scarce resources.

We teach those we work with to be vigilant about modeling both threats and unintended consequences of technology decisions. We emphasize values, inclusion and shared literacy in those decisions, ever mindful that we are what we use.

If you are able, we humbly ask you to support the guidance we provide to grassroots nonprofits and activists around the world.

Your year-end, tax-deductible contribution is deeply appreciated the whole year round. We are proud of who we support, and equally proud of who supports us.

Donations help to enable our work. We thank each of you for all your support on the shared journey towards justice and equity for all.

peace,
Gunner