Statement by the Free State Project Board of Directors

As we pass the two year anniversary of the choice of New Hampshire as the Free State, and our four year anniversary as an organization, we have paused to take stock of our progress.

One of our longstanding goals has been to reach 20,000 signatures by the end of 2006. While not outside the realm of possibility, this goal now seems unlikely to be reached. The reason for this is apparently a much lower level of national media attention since the state vote in 2003. The good news is that our growth rate remains steady, that Free Staters are already moving to New Hampshire, and finally, that we think we can improve our media attention substantially in the coming months.

Armed with these facts, we decided to take stock of where we are and of what we need to do to move forward toward the extraordinary goal we all share – a truly free society.

1. First of all, we have dropped our goal of reaching 20,000 signatures by the end of 2006. While this was an informal part of the Project we recognize that some found this an important element of their commitment. We're requesting that people who thought this goal was essential to their participation contact us to let us know of their intentions.

   We are not setting a new goal for reaching 20,000, but we expect to increase our recruitment rate (more on that below) and reach that goal within a reasonable time frame.

2. Our second decision is that changing the existing Statement of Intent is not warranted at this time. We considered allowing a variable or additional threshold for moving, but realized that moving sooner or at a lower threshold is possible without any new, complicating Statements of Intent. We can always revisit this issue at a later time, but it would be premature to make any fundamental changes now.

3. Third, we recognize that the success of the Free State Project really depends on actual movers, and we are now actively encouraging all participants to move as soon as they are able. We are expanding our New Hampshire Information efforts and will provide focused help to liberty-minded movers on finding jobs, housing, and the right community to fit their needs. The more people move now, the sooner the freedom community will make an even greater difference in New Hampshire, and the more people will be willing to sign up and move. We want to increase the pace of that virtuous circle.

4. Finally, the Board has decided to hire a public relations company for a specific project of developing local media stories. We will need your help to make these stories happen! Some of you will be hearing from us shortly. If you get a message from us about this project, please make yourself available. We are actively considering hiring a public relations firm on a permanent basis to help us improve our messages and create a consistently high level of excitement and interest. This strategy should help us increase recruitment dramatically, getting us ever closer to 20,000 and to liberty in our lifetime.

FSP Board of Directors
11/01/05