Freedom Socialist • Vol. 28, No. 4 • August-September 2007

Dollars for the FS: where they come from and where they go

by Monica Hill

Fund drive coordinator Monica Hill (left) and FS circulation manager Waheeda Francis open mail from generous contributors. Photo credit: Steve Hoffman / FS

With our $92,000 fund drive for the newspaper almost three-quarters over, we are proud to announce that $69,954.72 has been raised so far! The campaign ends August 31, so if you haven't already contributed, now's the perfect time.

Where did this money come from? And where will it go? The answers are not top secret.

Generous donors. Our success comes from readers like you. The national calling list for phone banking had nary a millionaire on it. Yet subscribers and friends in New York, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle pledged $6,760! A donor in San Francisco told us, "I love the penguin metaphor in your fundraising campaign. Like penguins, you march for the common good." Another put it simply, "The FS says it like it is and should be."

An apartment party in Harlem raised $1,183. Everyone was having so much fun, hostess Marie Runyon sang "Goodnight, Irene" to break up the revelry. Folk singer Pete Seeger couldn't come, so he sent his donation by mail.

Political forums also generate tremendous financial support. FSP branches sponsored discussions around U.S. militarization, immigrant workers, toxic neighborhoods, gay rights, and freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal. The events generated intense talk and organizing, and raised over $7,000 for the Freedom Socialist.

Money from palm reading at Portland's gay pride netted $422. Pass-the-hat loot from planning meetings, money donated for snacks at study groups, and inventive raffles will bring in several hundred more dollars.

Yard sales always generate cash. In Los Angeles, officers of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1442, on their way to a pre-strike press conference/rally, delivered a van of sellable items. "You never forget those who stood by you when times were bad," they explained. The Los Angeles branch supported their 2003 strike.

Finally, no fund drive would be successful without Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women members who can always be counted on to give generously.

So now you know. Workingclass bigheartedness is the wellspring of this newspaper's longevity and growth.

Money well spent. The FS makes working people's hard-earned donations go a long way. Volunteers do much of the writing, editing, design and artwork, and sell the Freedom Socialist on the street. A small core staff gets decent wages and benefits to manage and distribute the paper nationally and internationally. But some costs we can't control.

As everyone knows, postage is rising. For one mailing we budgeted $.87 per envelope and suddenly had to pay $1.14! Postal hikes hit hard especially because we ship bundles of papers abroad to Latin America and Cuba.

We've also had another blow to our budget recently. A scab company bought the union print shop the FS has used for years. After a fruitless search for another union web press in the Seattle area where the newspaper is produced, we located one in San Francisco. In fact, this paper was printed there — adding another good reason to make a donation!

For a free press and a better world! Before Aug. 31, please use the form below to give a gift, or go to www.socialism.com, to contribute via credit card or PayPal.

And thanks again for your support! You're terrific!