We’re nearing the end of our first quarter fundraiser and, unfortunately, it hasn’t been a particularly robust one. This worries me. With taxes due soon and our bank account dwindling, there is a real possibility that I will need to restrict how many posts our regular contributors can publish because there simply won’t be enough money to pay them. And, while I suspect all of our writers would do it without pay, that’s not how we roll at Eclectablog. We’re a progressive blog and that means people here get paid fairly for their creative output. That’s a progressive value I won’t compromise on.
So, we need you to step up. We don’t have many ads on the site and, frankly, the ones we do have pay very, very little. Instead, we rely on YOU, our readers, to support quality writing and reporting. We don’t like begging for money but it’s an unavoidable necessity.
Yesterday, Anne posted the following essay on Facebook. I am reposting it here to give you a glimpse behind the curtain of Eclectablog and how we operate. Details on how you can support us are below.
I don’t like painting ceilings.
I don’t like driving in the snow.
I don’t like ‘The Notebook’.
But mostly I don’t like asking for money.
Thankfully these three things can mostly be avoided, but asking for money to keep Eclectablog alive and relevant, well, that can’t be avoided.
So, here I am again. Please at least hear me out.
I get paid zero for the photography and graphics I do for Eclectablog. Chris gets paid less than some of his writers yet he provides at least 75% of the content. We don’t do Eclectablog for financial gain. We never will.
Eclectablog is about Michigan, and democracy, and about those with no voice. It is a labor of love and it IS working. Eclectablog has made a difference and we will continue to.
Chris, with his full-time job and his position of Chair of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party still makes time to keep Eclectablog running, cheerfully, every single day. He cares that much. In fact, he told me this week that he has written 4,520 post for Eclectablog. That is impressive dedication.
I’m not asking you to get up at 5:30 a.m. like Chris does to write, read, research, pay bills, and find new ways to talk about difficult political issues. I am only asking for a little money. I don’t care if it’s $5.00 and a nice note. All of it helps.
We have been politely asking for donations all week but have only received a few, mostly on the first day. That won’t cut it.
Think about our state and all the really horrible problems we are facing. Now think about it with one less force trying like hell to make it better. We need all we can get. You know that.
Please consider donating.
Much love,
Anne
For those groups and individuals who find what we do here at Eclectablog worthy of supporting with a direct financial contribution, there are three ways to help.
First, you can make your donation using this PayPal form:
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You can choose which level of support you wish to give us from the dropdown box or choose a different level if you wish by using the “Other amount” box. The default is $60 which is basically $1 per week after the fees are taken out, a pretty good value.
Or you can wait until the TinyPass pop-up pops up (every tenth click on the site) and donate that way. If you do that, the popups will go away as long as you have cookies enabled. Like with the Paypal form, the default amounts for annual or monthly donations can be adjusted to whatever you wish them to be. They are currently set to be around $1 per week. Again, it’s a great value.
Finally, if you would prefer to send a check, send Chris an email and he’ll give you the address. This is the most beneficial way for us because it avoids the Paypal and Tinypass fees that are taken from contributions to the site.
If you work for an organization that would like to support our efforts by placing an ad, click HERE for our ad rates and more information.
By the way, you don’t have to be an organization to run an ad. Maybe you’d like to surprise your favorite progressive with a birthday message on Eclectablog or help promote your favorite group. Again, click HERE for more info.
If you cannot afford to support us financially, there are other ways that you can still help.
For instance, please share our content on your Facebook page or other social media like Twitter, Reddit, etc. Put a “Like” on our Facebook page and click the “Invite friends” button and encourage your friends to like us, too.
Thanks so much for your continued support,
Chris, Anne, Amy, LOLGOP, Tony, Emma, John, Judy, and Sommer
