Forget big donors — Tor Project proved a crowd of small givers can bankroll internet freedom and raise over $200K

Tor Project's fundraising results, promo images with logos of projects receiving the funds.

• The Tor Project's debut participatory funding raised more than $200,000
• A "quadratic funding" model meant the number of backers mattered more than the size of any single donation
• The experiment was a response to a 2025 collapse in traditional funding

Back in May, we covered the launch of an unusual fundraising experiment from the nonprofit behind the Tor Browser. The results are now in, and they give the team reason to be cautiously optimistic.