28.07.2004
Summer Offensive 2004: Too weak to squeak
Ian Mahoney explains why the Summer Offensive has been extended until August 14. Have you contributed yet?
Our annual Party fundraising campaign, the Summer Offensive, was extended for two week by our members’ aggregate, meeting on July 24. This means that the formal end of this year’s campaign will be August 14, the first day of our Communist University.This time extension is not a signal to relax, however! We need the pace of donations coming into our centre to increase significantly if we are to hit our £30k target. This week’s postbag boosted our total by £3,145, taking us up to £20,498. By next week’s paper, we estimate we should be on or near the £25k mark - a good achievement by comrades working in pretty hard conditions in this year’s campaign. But more is needed.
We do not just pluck figures out of the air when we set targets for our annual campaigns. We need £30,000 as a minimum from this year’s Offensive in order to maintain the organisation and its work; if we fall short, money has to be raised from elsewhere, or we have to scale back our plans. So - all comrades - time for a final push to see us through! Our members will once again be squeezing their bank accounts till the pips are too weak to squeak, but we also need readers and friends of the Weekly Worker to dig deep if we are going to hit our minimum.
Special thanks this week to comrades MM and MJ for their outstanding donation of £529 - the comrades tell us that a timely tax rebate helped enormously, “so many thanks to Gordon Brown”. Comrade EG from Cardiff has the distinction of not only being the first member to complete his 2004 pledge on time, but actually making good a £185 shortfall from last year. That’s the short of spirit we need, comrades! Also thanks to MC for his £200, to SM for her £100 and to new comrade DI for his £200 - as a new member, the comrade joined the campaign very late but has shown good resolve since he came into our ranks.
Let me mention also the £100 received from SO veteran DH - the only one to make a contribution via our PayPal facility last week. This despite the fact that no fewer than 8,232 visitors logged onto our website over the last seven days.