Donate Here
Founded in 2014, Authors Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advocates for the interests of authors who want to serve the public good by sharing their creations broadly. Our vision and voice are unique among organizations participating in debates about copyright, free expression, fair use, and other public policy issues affecting authors.
Our existence is not guaranteed. We depend heavily on member donations to continue to do this work, and we need your financial support to help secure the future of Authors Alliance.
While several non-profit organizations represent the interests of libraries and of the public at large, Authors Alliance is the only non-profit, membership-based organization that brings a progressive author’s perspective to bear on issues of information policy. We provide an alternative to the protectionist positions of entertainment and big media lobbyists that represent only a limited perspective on the interests of authors.
PRIORITIES
We have ambitious goals in areas where we believe Authors Alliance can make a big difference. But, we need your help to achieve them. For the coming year, we plan to focus on:
Helping authors to overcome barriers to reaching readers by proactively promoting robust digital markets that serve authors’ interests. Big ideas like “digital ownership” deserve more attention—we want to spur that conversation forward by contributing author perspectives on what’s wrong with the current system of mass licensing and platform lock-in, and how it can be improved. We also want to communicate continued support for libraries by bringing author voices together in court and in the public sphere to explain how libraries serve our interests in providing access to and preservation of our works.
Strengthening authors’ ability to have a say in how their work is disseminated by enhancing authors’ ability to regain and exercise their rights. We hope to reinvigorate a discussion about how the copyright “termination of transfer” system is failing authors, by creating a series of policy papers to share with policy makers. We also aim to more directly support authors in exercising their existing rights by developing a network of resources for them (e.g., pro-bono attorneys) or by directly advising authors on their rights. And, we want to help improve the legal infrastructure that supports authors who want to make their writing and research available on an open access basis.
Protecting authors’ freedom to conduct research by continuing to defend their free expression and fair use rights in court. We also intend to continue to support fair use for text and data mining research by helping support researchers to use the rights they have under fair use and the DMCA, report on where current law is falling short, and petition for an expansion of the current DMCA text and data-mining exemption this coming summer.
Promoting a healthy publishing ecosystem by leveling the playing field in publication contract negotiation by piloting a database of publication contracts with guidance on terms for authors. We also want to address how Authors Alliance can most effectively support efforts to address anticompetitive behavior and platform integrity challenges, including copyright as well as challenges related to misinformation, censorship, and privacy.
SUPPORT AUTHORS ALLIANCE
Authors Alliance has demonstrated that it can have a big impact with a small footprint. We rely heavily on individual donors like you to provide support for our core operations. While we have had successes in securing grant funding, those funds cover only a small portion of our operations, and can be difficult to use to support the kind of quick-response policy work that is sometimes needed, such as filing briefs or responding to regulatory Notices of Inquiry. We also believe in lowering barriers to participation, and so Authors Alliance membership has always been free. Even so, a large number of our members give, but mostly through small gifts of $100 or less.
This year, our goal is to secure twelve commitments of $10,000 or more, and 100 commitments of $250 or more, to support general operations for the coming year. If you value Authors Alliance, we urge you to join our effort to meet these goals.
To give, you can donate online at authorsalliance.org/donate or mail your check to:
Authors Alliance
2108 N ST # 8898
Sacramento, CA 95816
If you have interest in other ways you can support Authors Alliance, we would be pleased to hear from you. You can reach Dave Hansen, Authors Alliance’s Executive Director, at dave@authorsalliance.org.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We’d like to thank our major donors, whose continued support over the years has made our work in advocacy, education, and resource creation for authors possible. We greatly appreciate their generous support of authorship for the public good. We especially thank the Knight Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Arcadia Fund, and the Filecoin Foundation.