Urgent Mid-Year Need, raising $5K in June

by Aiden Enns | Published 5th June 2014 in Social Change

Dear Readers,

There is no mystery to how Geez magazine operates: we are reader-supported. Subscribers and individual donors like you provide 95 percent of our budget for printing, shipping, staffing, and monthly costs (roughly five percent comes from grants). We still buck the consumer-mentality and publish with no money from ads.* And we print on “pre-owned” paper, i.e. 100%-post-consumer waste.

Important as ever
I recently spoke with our Rainbow Page editor Katie Toth, who has been studying journalism in New York. She said people there had never heard of Geez magazine and were surprised to learn there was such a thing as a progressive Christian magazine like ours. That confirmed our goal to ramp up outreach to folks in the the U.S. Later this month we’ll go to North Carolina to distribute Geez mags at the Wild Goose Festival.

Urgent mid-year need
As I write this mid-year appeal, we are at a very low ebb in our cash flow. A combination of a seasonal lull in subscriptions and a compressed printing schedule (to allow for summer promo) has left us scraping the bottom, and dipping into our small rainy-day fund. This has only happened once before in 9 years of publishing.

Goal for June
We’re seeking to raise $5,000 in June to allow us to print on schedule and pay writers in a timely manner. Just $50 dollars from a hundred donors brings us to this goal.

Give online or by mail
We have sent this letter electronically to save on printing and mailing costs. It also allows you to easily donate online via credit card (see the options at geezmagazine.org/donate). Or, if you prefer to send a cheque by mail, please make it out to “Geez magazine” and send it to 400 Edmonton Street, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2M2.

A little nudge
Because some people love a little extra incentive, when you . . .

• Give $25 or more, we’ll offer you a free Geez back issue of your choice (subject to availability), limited to the first 25 donors.

• Give $50 or more, we’ll offer you a free 8.5 in. x 11 in. poster of the Geez inaugural cover image (Boy Sleeps in Church), plus a free Geez back issue mentioned above.

• Give $100 or more, we’ll offer you a deluxe, limited edition 11 in. x 15 in. print of original artwork by our award-winning designer Darryl Brown, featured on the cover of the Geez Contemplation issue (Summer 2011), plus offer you the free poster and back issue mentioned above.

It continues to be a privilege to work on this project on behalf of readers and supporters. I am deeply grateful to the team of co-workers and our large crew of volunteers. Let us continue together.

Sincerely,

Aiden Enns, on behalf of the board and team of workers,
Editor
Geez magazine
400 Edmonton Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2M2
Canada

*In full disclosure, we have promoted some events on our pages, for example the Wild Goose Festival – in exchange for sponsor status and registration fees.