---
layout: post
title: "Reproducible Builds joins the Software Freedom Conservancy"
date: 2018-11-08 13:00:00
categories: org
draft: false
---
… and receives US$300,000 donation from the Handshake Foundation.
We are excited to announce that our project is joining the [Software Freedom
Conservancy](https://sfconservancy.org/about/) as a member project!
Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in New York that
helps promote, develop and defend Free, Libre, and Open Source Software (FLOSS)
projects.
Conservancy provides [important services](https://sfconservancy.org/projects/services/)
for its member projects. Member projects like us now can take directed donations
which allows donors to earmark their donations for the benefit of a specific
FLOSS project. Conservancy provides fiscal oversight to ensure that these funds
are spent in a manner that advances the project and fits with Conservancy's
501(c)(3) mission to promote, advance, and defend software freedom. Last, but not
least, it can also provide projects with basic legal services.
The Reproducible Builds project, which began as a project within the Debian
community, joins other adjacent work by Conservancy around this distribution
such as the [Debian Copyright Aggregation Project](https://sfconservancy.org/news/2015/aug/17/debian/).
Reproducible Builds is also critical to [Conservancy's own compliance work](https://sfconservancy.org/copyleftcompliance/):
a build that cannot be verified may contain code that triggers different
[license compliance responsibilities](https://reproducible-builds.org/events/berlin2016/gpl-compliance/)
than those which the recipient is expecting. Unaccounted-for code makes it hard
for anyone who distributes software to guarantee that they are doing so
responsibly and with care for those who further receive the software.
The Reproducible Builds project is already working with [many
crucial and well-known free software projects](https://reproducible-builds.org/who/)
such as [Coreboot](https://www.coreboot.org/) (also a Conservancy project!),
openSUSE, OpenWrt, Tails, GNU Guix, bootstrappable.org, FreeBSD, Arch Linux and
[Tor](https://www.torproject.org). In the past, the Core Infrastructure
Initiative [generously funded](https://www.coreinfrastructure.org/announcements/the-linux-foundations-core-infrastructure-initiative-renews-funding-for-reproducible-builds-project/)
work on the project but this has since ceased. The work has continued in the
meantime thanks to the contributions of volunteers.
As Reproducible Builds joins Conservancy, it is also receiving a donation of
US$300,000 from the [Handshake Foundation](https://handshake.org/) which will
propel the project's efforts to ensure the future health and usability of free
software.
Karen Sandler, Executive Director of the Software Freedom Conservancy, says
"The work being done at Reproducible Builds is critical for both the trust and
long-term sustainability of free software projects. We're proud to be able to
support the project behind this set of practices which we hope will eventually
be adopted by the wider free software community."
Holger Levsen, who will chair the project's Steering Committee, along with
Bdale Garbee, Allen Gunn, Mattia Rizzolo, Keith Packard and Stefano Zacchiroli
says, "I'm very happy that Reproducible Builds has become a Conservancy project
and am much looking forward to see the results of this cooperation and the long
term effects on the free software ecosystem. Reproducible Builds is on a long-term
mission to change the way Free Software is distributed and used and I'm
glad we have a strong partner who shares our vision and has ties into the wider
community."
Chris Lamb, the current [Debian](https://debian.org/) Project Leader and long-time contributor to the
Reproducible Builds effort, references freedom #2 of the Free Software
Foundation's [Four Freedoms](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html)
when talking about the importance of trust when sharing software: "Are you
really helping your neighbour if you distribute trojanned or otherwise
compromised software?"
Conservancy, a public charity focused on ethical technology, is home to over
fifty member projects dedicated to developing and promoting free and open
source software. Conservancy acts as a corporate umbrella, allowing member
projects to operate as non-profit initiatives without having to manage their
own corporate structure and administrative services.