20.06.2007

Problems and potentialities

The Communist Party's annual fundraising drive begins on June 23. Howard Roak looks at the possibilities

This year's Summer Offensive will be an interesting one. Every week for the next two months I will be reporting on the progress of our fundraising campaign as members, supporters and friends of the party contribute to our drive to raise £25k over the next two months.

At the end of last year's campaign, I identified a number of weaknesses that had held the campaign back to a certain extent - we made £23,000 towards our June-July target of £30k, despite extending the SO by two weeks. Not a disaster by any means, but a problem nonetheless. This year, despite the fact that neither our organisation nor the political situation we operate in has been qualitatively transformed, I think we have the potential to make the campaign the best for a number of years.

For instance, our periphery of sympathising readers has expanded quite dramatically. In the 10 months or so since I wrote my assessment of last year's campaign (Weekly Worker August 31 2006), the number of visitors to our website has more or less doubled; we have played a central role in the launch of two new organisations that have brought a wider range of contacts and potential supporters - Communist Students and Hands Off the People of Iran and some of these new supporters have already shown initiative in promoting these campaigns.

In the coming weeks, as well as regular updates of the state of play with our SO, I will be setting our fundraising in its political context, in terms of both the history of our distinct tendency and the broader political context in which we fight for a reforged Communist Party.

In the meantime, here are some SO ground rules for comrades who may be thinking about taking the plunge and making a pledge for the first time.

l First, in the immortal words of The hitchhiker's guide to the universe - "Don't panic!" Comrades around the country are making plans for money raising that include special events or simply pruning back on personal expenditure for the next two months or so. While members and candidate members have agreed set minimums to raise, other comrades can take part in the SO at whatever level they feel they can. We welcome each and every contribution during this period. If you can simply make a small, one-off donation to the general drive for funds, it will be much appreciated, comrades.

l The said "personal expenditure" takes many forms, of course. For example, a number of comrades are threatening to give their livers and lungs a breather ... literally, in the case of the last set of organs. As well as the money saved, comrades in the past have got their families and friends to sponsor their cold turkey abstinence.

l Is there cash in your attic? Of course, we are not relying on an 'Anita Halpin moment' to see us over the hurdle of this year's appeal (Anita is a member of the Morning Star's ailing Communist Party of Britain who made national news last year when she flogged off an inherited painting - Kirchner's 'Berlin street scene' - for a useful £20 million: see www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/650/cpb.htm). Rather more modestly for our people, we suspect, is the possibility of finally seeing off those Leo Sayer, Kaja Goo Goo and Yes albums that still lurk in the hidden recesses of their vinyl collection. They say nothing good about you, comrades - now, or when you bought them. A car boot sale beckons, surely?

l You have family and friends. Hopefully. If you are 'out' as a lefty and a friend of the Communist Party, badger them for support. Cash is preferable; 'stuff' may be easier to solicit. So if you are organising that car boot purge of your life, don't forget to ask family and friends to clear out their dark corners as well. (This may even be an opportunity to meet CPGB supporters in your area. Let us know if you have plans for some sort of fundraiser and we will try to put you in contact with comrades near you who may be able to help out.)

l Some of our comrades take second jobs or work longer shifts. (CPGB national organiser Mark Fischer recalls that in the 1980s he spent three days in a mud-soaked field in Essex selling tacky commemorative plates and key rings at an amahdi muslim festival. It's a rich life as a party full-timer ...) However, we don't actually want our people to disappear for the whole stretch of the SO, work all the hours under the sun to hit their targets, then reappear at the end of the campaign pasty-faced and depoliticised. The whole point of the SO is ...

l Politics, comrades. We try to make the Offensive a political high point of our year. Every paper sold, every book or subscription won, every £1 that comes over party stalls for badges, t-shirts, or in the way of donations of payment for events is counted towards the total. For example:

u The Stop the War Coalition demo at the Labour conference on June 24. A good boost to the campaign right at the very start.

u The annual Marxism event of the Socialist Workers Party - again, a chance to raise money through political engagement with the thousands of people who attend. This year it runs from July 5-9.

u Our own Communist University - August 11-18 in south London. Of course, we would want as many comrades as possible to attend and participate in the debates at this important school. If you can't, however, why not make a donation to the costs of the school? We need to cover the travel costs of speakers coming from around the country and abroad; we need to produce attractive publicity material to build the event; we need to help defer some of the costs of younger comrades who want to attend, but who simply can't afford the fees; etc.

u On Friday August 17, the CU will host a celebration meal to mark the end of the Summer Offensive. Tickets will be on sale for this and the cost will include a donation to the Hands Off the People of Iran campaign. Again, whatever is raised - including the donation to this important solidarity campaign - will count towards the Summer Offensive.

Some hard work coming up then, comrades. Hopefully some fun as well, however. Many readers of the Weekly Worker will be contacted personally about the fund drive - but, as always, don't wait to be asked! You can send donations now to help ensure we get off to a good start over the opening weekend of June 23-24. Make cheques and postal orders out to 'CPGB', marking the back 'SO 2007'. Or use the PayPal facility on our site - again, make sure you tell us what the money is coming in for.

Let's have a good start to this year's SO, comrades! Remember we have set £25,000 as a minimum target!