Well, our Annual Fund Fall Fund Drive isn’t over yet. As you have probably noticed, it is not going as well as we hoped. We still have about $5,000 to go.
This isn’t to say the prognosis is all bad, in fact, the good news is that the number of donations we have received thus far is higher than last year.
Nonetheless, average donation amounts are down considerably, which is why we haven’t reached our goal.
We understand why. Inflation is hurting everyone. Housing costs are sky-high, and jobs don’t pay what they should. It’s not easy out there, and as Trump returns to the White House, emboldened and unleashed, it will be ever more dire.
We already face new threats. Just this past week, the House approved legislation that would give the Treasury Dept. complete discretion to revoke the non-profit status of organizations like ours that support Palestinian liberation. Trump (and plenty of Democrats) want to take organizations like ours down. Which is why your support for our work is more vital than ever.
That said, after some contemplation, we have decided to end the fund drive this weekend, whether or not we reach our goal. To survive through the end of 2025, we will have to raise more money in the spring, but we feel this is a better option than bugging you any more than we already have.
We know that many of you turn to CounterPunch every day and that you look to your favorite trusted writers to hear their take on the topics you care about most.
We have been pressured to compromise our values at every turn. Why not just run ads? Why not sell reader data? Why not put up a paywall for the entire site?
Maybe these tactics are par for the course these days, but we’d like to remind you that par for the course is not what CounterPunch is all about, and it’s not what our readers want either; otherwise, you’d all be getting your news from MSNBC.
If you have donated, we thank you so much. This letter is for the 99% of our regular readers who haven’t donated but have the means to do so.
Please contribute what you can in this final stretch of the fund drive. We don’t want anybody to give more than they can afford.
If all of our readers gave $25 today, we could put our begging bowl aside to gather dust for years to come. Donating $25 or $5 a month will also get a year’s subscription to CP+, our subscriber area. You can mail us a check or donate via PayPal.
So please, consider putting your shoulder to the wheel and helping us raise the funds it takes to keep our little project afloat. All donations are tax-deductible.
Onward,
Jeffrey, Becky, Joshua, Deva , Nathaniel, Andrew, Nichole