03.08.2005
Show some appreciation
So here we are in the last week of this year's Summer Offensive, our annual fundraising campaign. Unfortunately, it now seems almost certain that we will not be able to reach this year's target of £30,000. The question is - how far short will we be? If we finish well below £25,000, this could create considerable financial difficulties for us during the coming 12 months. The annual SO is an important and integral part of our overall annual fundraising, so if there are any last-minute donations still out there, get them in the post, comrades! We have a two-week break in paper production coming up, so we will not be able to report the final result before September 1. But we count all cheques, standing order payments and cash donations towards our Summer Offensive that reach us before August 13, the day of our celebration meal at Communist University. The last seven days have seen a healthy response to an s-mail circular we sent out a few weeks ago - all in all, £1,789 of new money has come in during the last week, including new subscriptions to the Weekly Worker worth £75. Comrade DD has sent £25 and an apology that this year he cannot make it to Communist University (which he has attended as a speaker in the past). TL has paid for a weekend ticket and added a £10 donation. Thanks also go to GD for his £10 donation, SW for another contribution to our SO of £20, comrade PL's donation of £20 and PR's £20 gift. CW's book order (£20) will of course also be counted to our total, as will a number of badge orders from www.campaignbadges.co.uk. Again, not enough comrades have made use of our PayPal facility on our website to donate money. Just to name two: HG, though a student and currently abroad in the Czech Republic on a university course, has paid for his CU attendance (£100). Comrade EH deserves a special mention because he was considerate enough to add £2 to his £20 donation to make up for the charge PayPal adds to all transactions (it's not quite that much, but many thanks, comrade). We really need to up the number of comrades who leave us a donation via the web. For instance, some 2,704 comrades have downloaded a complete copy of our book Remaking Europe. Comrades, if you appreciate the resources our organisation provides via the material on our site, why not show some appreciation? A letter would be nice; a letter plus a donation would be even better. The same goes for the 14,730 comrades who read the Weekly Worker online last week (including the 528 who downloaded pdf versions). Our total has now reached £20,297. The best way to ensure that any late donations are counted towards the Summer Offensive is by bringing them to the first day of our Communist University, or phoning through the amount to Mark Fischer on 07950 416922. One last push, comrades! Howard Roake
Worker