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Friend,
My name is Kimberly Monaghan, and I'm the board chair of Common Dreams. I'm writing today to give you an inside peek into the history of our funding here at Common Dreams--and share with you some concerns I have for the future.
When Donald Trump was elected in 2016, nonprofit organizations across the progressive movement, including Common Dreams, saw an increase donations that's been called the "Trump Bump."
But now that Trump is gone, there's an important unanswered question: What will happen to the surge of grassroots energy that helped end the Trump nightmare?
Will it continue forward, pushing for the fundamental changes needed to solve the climate crisis, reduce the massive and growing wealth gap, end systemic racism, and recover from COVID-19? Or will the "Trump Bump" be followed by a "Post-Trump Slump"?
We've seen this movie before. In 2009, after Barack Obama was elected, too many progressives simply checked out, went to brunch, and assumed Obama would take care of everything. The result was the Tea Party wave of 2010, a complete shutdown of progress in Washington, D.C., and the rise of Donald Trump.
It's too soon to say whether that's happening again, but there are worrying signs. Donations are down so far in 2021 compared to the last four years, and if this is in fact the beginning of a "post-Trump slump," then it's trouble not only for Common Dreams but for the entire progressive movement.
We have just one week left in our Winter Fundraising Campaign, and we're counting on you to help meet our goal of $75,000. Please chip in whatever you can--there's still far too much work to do, and I give you my word that your money will be well spent.
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