30.06.2016

Setting our sights high

Sunday June 26 saw the launch of the CPGB’s annual Summer Offensive fundraising drive, Peter Manson reports

Sunday June 26 saw the launch of the CPGB’s annual Summer Offensive fundraising drive at a meeting in London (see report, p4).

Once more we have set our sights high and we aim to raise £30,000 for our ongoing work - running our annual summer school, Communist University, improving the presentation of the Weekly Worker, upgrading the CPGB website and campaigning around the new solidarity organisation, Support Iranian Workers, to name but a few things.

However, the 2016 Summer Offensive is a little shorter than in previous years - we hope to have raised the full amount by August 12, just before the end of Communist University. In other words, the SO will last just under seven weeks this year, as opposed to the usual two months. As I noted in the report of the meeting mentioned above, the comrades present pledged a total of £8,450 and in the few day since then total pledges have risen to £17,900. Not bad at all, given that we haven’t even started approaching our supporters and contacts yet.

The SO began modestly, with £94 collected at the launch meeting itself (including £30 from JE alone), but, as I write, a total of £2,893 has already been raised, with several CPGB comrades coming up with the cash to help pay the deposit for the CU venue.

For those readers wondering what has happened to Robbie Rix and his weekly fighting fund column, let me reassure them on two counts. First, while between now and August 12 money donated to the Weekly Worker will be included in the CPGB’s overall SO target, the cash raised will be used exclusively for the intended purpose: ie, the paper itself. Secondly, comrade Rix asks me to inform readers that a total of £313 came into the Weekly Worker coffers last week, taking the June fighting fund over its £1,750 target with a day to spare. Our paper’s supporters have raised a total of £1,779 over the whole month.

Amongst the contributors to the Weekly Worker were PM (£100), JT (£30) and BB (£15). Then there was JF, who made a £20 “guilt donation” via PayPal. He writes: “Agreed with every word of the Jo Cox article, but I don’t quite have the balls to promote it on social media.” Courage, comrade! He was one of 3,262 online readers of our paper last week.

Over the next couple of weeks, our Summer Offensive team will be contacting all our supporters and sympathisers, urging them to contribute to the SO. But you don’t have to wait for that email or phone call! Why not get out your cheque book straightaway and send your donation, payable to ‘CPGB’, to BCM Box 928, London WC1N 3XX. Alternatively there is the PayPal button on the CPGB website (please leave a message stating that the money is for the Summer Offensive) or you can make a bank transfer direct to the CPGB account: sort code 08-92-99; account number 65109991.

Over the next few weeks I will be reporting on the various fundraising initiatives undertaken by our comrades. Let’s hope you are inspired to join in!

^{Peter Manson}