This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 220 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why we’re doing this fundraiser and what we’ve accomplished in the last year.
Thanks to our loyal readers for such fast and generous responses! We’ve already well over 200 donations in less than 19 hours out of our fundraiser target of 1100 donors (due to needing desperately to turn in, this is a low guesstimate based on an eyeballing after my daily firm tally). Even more important, we blew past our first goal, which was $19,000 to provide for more technology investments in the site, better loading speed, more robust defenses, and faster resolution of other site issues, a markedly higher level than last year due to a more hostile external environment. So good for you for helping us support unsexy but absolutely critical budget items. This is our foundation for all the content we provide.
But this is only our first goal, so if you haven’t had time to contribute yet, we hope you’ll go to our Tip Jar pronto, which show you how to give by check, debit or credit card or PayPal.
We’ve hit our target quickly, and are moving faster than at the same time last year. Lambert is off the grid right now, and he is the master of our fundraising thermometer. So we have the high class problem of having it seriously out of date relative to where we stand now. He will get it more current when he comes on the grid.
Our second goal is $18,500 for travel and meetups, and as of 10:00 AM, we already have $1,100 towards that target. We used to devote this item to conferences, and we have made a priority in the past of going to INET, which is very useful for networking as well as intelligence. But right now we turn down pretty much all but also because it would result in fewer posts (the usual problem of only so many hours in the day) and so we need to provide for blog coverage by paying our writers to do more than their usual duty. As one astute reader said, we are like a single mother who can’t leave our apartment without hiring a baby sitter. As much as I joke that we run this site with 1.3 people, that’s due to Lambert providing Water Cooler, and Lambert and other writers also making sure none of us keels over due to overwork (as in providing every other weekend and some holiday coverage). Taking the time to do what most normal journalists and business people do, get out and have face time, has been a luxury we’ve seldom been able to indulge in.
More important, it’s clear from the reader participation in New York, Washington, and San Francisco, (and the wistful comments from reader in other cities would like meetups, not just to see me (and other writer when we can swing that) but even more important, as an excuse for local members of the NC community to get to know each other. We’ve found without exception that readers really enjoy these discussions, and they always go on well after the formal session time.
However, our skeletal staffing means these trips are more costly than you’d think. Even going to Washington DC on a day trip and having a few meetings (as in cabbing around a bit) is over $600 item, and a meetup means an overnight stay. And for most travel, the blog coverage cost exceeds the actual transportation/lodging expenses. So as much as we’d love to go to conferences, see readers outside NYC for meetups, and go visit a CalPERS board meeting and ask a few questions, all of those are bigger ticket items than you might imagine.
In addition, we’d like to fund for Lambert come to East coast meetups (we’ve paid for travel to NYC and Washington in the past).
So those of you who have contributed already, thanks again for your generous support, and we look forward to those NC fans who have just found out about the fundraiser to donate through the Tip Jar to help make the site more successful.
11 comments
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What would it cost to bring up a part-time staffer so y’all don’t detonate? A supporter can dream. :)
That is a great thought and you are correct that is what we really need, or a set of people who all do their various parts to get NC from 1.3 people to more like 1.8 or 2 people equivalent. But it would be a big increment beyond where we are now. For instance,wWe’d love to be able to have Lambert and Jerri-Lynn write a lot more frequently and it would help if I could have some more admin support (that is in theory, sometime delegating work to someone and then making sure it is done properly is as much work as doing it yourself, particularly if you don’t have a lot of repetitive work done on a regular basis).
Welp, if you need a committed, educated, and capable person with a spotty work history due to environmental illness (now in remission), let me know. ;)
Do they allow Lambert in Washington?
That doesn’t seem plausible to me.
I would think they’d stop him at the Maryland border and tell him to go home — or else.
They’d let him into New Yawk City though. All sorts of freaks live here. Nobody would even notice.
Being as it seems apparent that Lambert lives somewhere up here in the wilds of Maine, and I live in Maine, too, I think we should spare him the trouble and expense of travel to DC or NY and have a meet up here in Maine! Lots of good craft breweries here to pick from as a location. What do you say Lambert?
Agreed! Central Maine here. Although, can’t say I’m a Mainer yet since only moving here from CO three years ago.
Just made my first long over due donation to NC.
Hi,
Just wrote a check for the first time. Need to put a stamp on the letter and mail it.
I have only been here for a few months. On the top of this page “Subscribe to Post Comments.”
When I click on it I get HTML code.
I would like to subscribe and not have to repeat my email each time. How can I subscribe?
Thanks
Don Midwest USA
Since you’ve posted a comment, doesn’t that mean you’ve already “subscribed”? (i.e., registered?)
Oops see below, I misunderstood.
I was having trouble on Chrome browser. I connected to this page on Mozilla and found out what “subscribe” leads to — namely to subscribe to a feed for updates to this site.
I already “subscribe” to Yves on twitter so I don’t need another way to get updates.
On dailykos, one sets up a profile and then just makes comments. Here there is an extra step of adding your email each time. And users don’t have a profile.
I figured it out well enough for now…..
It shows up ok for me (brings up a way I can subscribe to make a monthly donation). If you still have problems say what you browser etc. is (I assume you have java, are accepting cookies for this site). I am not a techie but it will help Lambert or Yves or someone else figure out what might be causing the problem.