Look, the numbers are what they are.
On this day last year, we had 630 donations come through in response to my emails about our critical September 30 fundraising deadline.
So far today we’re at 313 — not even half as many — with just a few hours until the midnight deadline.
So I’m asking:
Please donate before the midnight deadline if you can. Anything you contribute right now will be matched dollar-for-dollar.
DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR MATCH ENDS AT MIDNIGHT CONTRIBUTE NOW
Better still, sign up as a Monthly Donor today and your contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar each and every month for one full year!
See my earlier note — copied below in case you missed it — for more about why this is such a make-or-break moment for the work you and Public Citizen do together.
And thank you for being part of this shared project called Public Citizen.
- Robert
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The deadline is at midnight tonight.
How things go over the next few hours will directly impact how aggressive Public Citizen can be over the next twelve months.
That includes all our work to confront authoritarianism, protect voting rights, ensure election integrity, and defend democracy as our country heads into what may well be the most consequential election in its history.
Why?
Because Public Citizen’s fiscal year ends at midnight tonight.
I know the phrase “fiscal year ends at midnight” is no “Ask not what your country can do for you ...”
This is an absolutely pivotal moment nonetheless.
Like many nonprofits, Public Citizen operates on what accountants call a fiscal year, which is different from the calendar year for reasons related to bookkeeping, taxes, etc.
What it means, in a nutshell, is that we are about to close the books on one year and begin the next.
Historically, then, the last few days of September have been rivaled only by the last few days of December when it comes to the online donations that are essential to powering the work you and Public Citizen do together.
(And remember, we neither seek nor accept “help” from Big Business and Uncle Sam — our independence and integrity just aren’t for sale. So, everything this shared project called Public Citizen gets done is possible thanks to folks like you chipping in what they can at junctures like this.)
But we are facing some hard realities this time around:
- Everyday Americans are under intense financial pressure and uncertainty caused by the insatiable greed, myopic mismanagement, rank profiteering, and political interference of Big Business.
- Many people are feeling tapped out from donating to candidates running for local, state, and national office.
- And you’re no doubt getting emails from other organizations noting September 30 as a deadline for one reason or another. (Perhaps with gimmicks like ALL-CAPS subject lines, garish formatting, gratuitous graphics, misleading “membership status” alerts, and more.)
So if this is not a good time for you to donate to Public Citizen, we understand.
If you can, please contribute today.
You won’t be alone.
A group of longtime supporters — in recognition of how critical this deadline is to our overall fundraising — has offered a dollar-for-dollar match for every contribution made today in response to this message.
I’ll say that again:
Every donation made today in response to this message will be matched dollar-for-dollar.
DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR MATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT CONTRIBUTE NOW
Better still, sign up as a Monthly Donor today and your contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar each and every month for one full year!
Thank you for reading this.
Thank you for anything you can chip in.
And thank you for everything you do as part of Public Citizen.
It really does matter.
- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
P.S. If donating today is not a good fit, that’s okay. I hope you’ll understand that I need to ask now and again so that we have the real-world resources to carry out all the essential work you and Public Citizen are doing together.
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