We’re off to an encouraging start.
But we need at least 3 more people from your Zip Code to donate before midnight tonight or we’ll already fall off the pace we need to be on to have any chance of earning the full $50,000 in dollar-for-dollar matching funds before the deadline.
Please give my earlier note — copied below in case you missed it — a quick look.
And please donate right now if you can.
Thank you!
- Robert
******
Please take a minute to read through this update.
We are just days from a make-or-break deadline.
How things go between now and midnight this Friday will directly impact how aggressive Public Citizen can be going forward.
That includes all our work to protect voting rights, ensure election integrity, and defend democracy — with barely more than a month until the almost existentially important midterm elections.
Why?
Because Public Citizen’s fiscal year ends at midnight this Friday, September 30.
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, and the like.
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 guard our independence by refusing “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:
- Many people are feeling tapped out from donating to candidates running for local, state, and national office.
- Everyday Americans are facing intense financial pressure and uncertainty because — once again — Big Business’ insatiable greed, myopic mismanagement, and rank profiteering have set the world economy on fire.
- 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 longtime supporter — in recognition of just how critical this deadline is — has offered to match every contribution dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000.
I’ll say that again:
Every donation made today in response to this message will be matched dollar-for-dollar.
Contribute now.
EVEN BETTER, SIGN UP TO BE A MONTHLY DONOR AND YOUR MONTHLY DONATION 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 right for you, that’s okay. I hope you’ll understand that I need to ask from time to time so that we have the resources to carry out all the essential work you and Public Citizen are doing together.
Public Citizen | 1600 20th Street NW | Washington DC 20009 | Unsubscribe