Tor Project Raises $200,000 for 10 Internet Freedom Projects After 2025 Funding Collapse
Updated
Updated · TechRadar · Aug 19
Tor Project Raises $200,000 for 10 Internet Freedom Projects After 2025 Funding Collapse
1 articles · Updated · TechRadar · Aug 19
Summary
$200,000-plus was raised in Tor Project's first participatory funding round, with $174,536 distributed after the campaign closed June 19 and donations were reconciled across multiple currencies.
580 donors made 662 contributions averaging $41, and under the quadratic funding model their breadth of support determined how a larger matching pool from six organizations was allocated.
Onion Browser received about $111,000 and FreeSocks backer Unredacted roughly $41,000, while SecureDrop, OnionShare, OONI and Ricochet Refresh were among 10 projects guaranteed minimum awards.
The experiment followed a 2025 collapse in U.S. internet-freedom funding, which Tor says exposed the risk of relying on a single backer as shutdowns and targeted censorship worsened.
Tor called the model promising but operationally complex—15% of funds went to running the campaign—and said it is already exploring future matching pools.