06.06.2013

Fighting Fund: Summer Offensive

Robbie Rix on the CPGB's summer fundraiser

The leadership of the CPGB is proposing to an aggregate of members on Saturday, June 8 that our Summer Offensive fundraising drive be launched by the meeting. The SO is an intensive campaign which lasts until the end of our summer school, Communist University, on August 18. The proposed aim is to raise a total of £30,000.

All cash donated to the Weekly Worker fighting fund during the SO will be included in the total - although it goes without saying that it will still be used to meet the paper’s running costs. But this means that this week’s column is the last from me until the end of the SO - CPGB national organiser Mark Fischer will be reporting on the progress of the Offensive, beginning next week with the pledges taken at, before and after the launch.

But beforehand I have my own reporting to do. First, the May fund. I’m pleased to say we exceeded our £1,500 target by £23 - not quite enough to wipe out the remaining £36 deficit from earlier in the year though! But the last two days of the month brought in a fantastic £175, thanks to TR (£50) and RS (£20), who both made use of PayPal hours before the deadline, to HB for her £30 bank transfer and to MN for his £50 cheque. Thanks also to AR, JC and RL for their standing orders amounting to £25.

Secondly, our June fund begins and ends with this issue of the paper, but in the short time since June 1 we have collected £297. Most of that came in the shape of no fewer than 15 standing orders for amounts ranging from £6 to £30 and totalling £222. The rest came from three PayPal donations - from EJ (£50), NW (£20) and DT (£5). They were among 9,718 online readers last week, by the way.

Thanks to all our supporters for your continuing generosity. I am sure many of you will be answering the call of comrade Fischer!