John, I got some troubling news last week.

At the mid-way point each month, our team checks in on how many donations have come in so far and whether we’re on track to match the month before and meet our targets.

Many of you stepped up last week to chip in $5, $15, $50 – but we’re still close to $10,000 behind where we were at this same point last month. While that may not sound like a lot, falling short $10,000 is a big deal and can impact our team’s operations.

I’ll explain more, but first – can you rush a $3 donation to help us get back on track and make sure we have the resources this month to continue mobilizing this movement?

The truth is that while we have accepted money from foundations in the past, our entire operating budget relies solely on grassroots donations from emails like this one. We don’t have major funders waiting in the wings to fill a $10K gap. Instead we depend on all of us to pitch in what we can, when we can. We’re not beholden to any funder – just all of you, and we’re proud of that.

We know that too often, foundation priorities change and that funding for women-focused organizations is usually the first thing to go.

Like most of you, we’re also operating month-to-month. We have a small, but scrappy, team with just five full-time and five part-time staff. We’re proud that we’ve been able to “punch above our weight” and direct the majority of our budget to mass mobilizations. We’re able to do that because of you, John.

While we tend to see a spike in donations around the March, we have to work hard to secure the resources we need to keep this movement going. We know that it’s not enough to march one day a year – and that we need to use the power we’ve built over the last four years every single day.

That’s why when the COVID-19 crisis began, we pivoted to fighting for relief efforts, even when we knew it was a financial risk.

We know times are hard, but if you can, please pitch in $3 today to help us close the gap.

Each year, we’ve felt the tremendous power when we come together and how important it is to have a united and diverse women’s movement. Let’s keep going.

Until we can all march together again.

Rachel Carmona