Revolution #253, December 18, 2011
BA EVERYWHERE...
IMAGINE THE DIFFERENCE IT COULD MAKE
A Mass Campaign to Raise Big Money to Get BA's Vision and Works Into Every Corner of Society
The editorial in the November 6 issue of Revolution, "BA Everywhere... Imagine the Difference It Could Make!" made an important and exciting announcement: A Mass Campaign to Raise Big Money to Get BA's Vision and Works Into Every Corner of Society.
And to do just that, it said:
We are launching a major, multi-faceted fundraising campaign to project BA, his voice and his work way out into society—far beyond what it is today. A fundraising campaign which will raise the necessary major money to make this possible. A fund drive that unleashes and develops imagination, defiance and community in everything it does.
Imagine what we could change... and imagine how we could change it.
The plan for the last weeks of the year has focused on raising the funds to get 1,500 copies of BAsics to prisoners, making a splash with BAsics with people giving it as a gift for the holidays, raising $23,000 to fund the production and release of the film that will be made about an incredible cultural event last spring inspired by BAsics, and kicking off the fundraising for a BA bus tour in 2012. Meeting these goals will be the first phase of this campaign to raise major funds. The idea is for each of these to accomplish three things: spread the word about BA; raise the needed money; and involve more and more people in this movement. So each focused effort should put us in a stronger place than before, with more capacity…and taken together, these should help lay the basis to really come out roaring when the new year begins.
We'll learn as we go…building up experience, forging a community, getting the word out in important ways, and raising funds to make important things happen.
For information and organizing material on the BA Everywhere fundraising campaign, go online to revcom.us/BAfundcampaign.
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Party to Fund the BA Bus Tour!
End the year right with year-end or New Year's parties to fund the kickoff for the BA Bus Tour in 2012. (See "BA Everywhere... Imagine the Difference It Could Make! A Mass Campaign to Raise Big Money to Get BA's Vision and Works Into Every Corner of Society" at revcom.us to read about the bus tour.)
Come together to celebrate the debate and engagement we're getting going with a radically different and far better vision of how the world could be... to celebrate the coming together of different perspectives and different walks of life... to really do something meaningful in the world. And raise funds while doing so.
Ask a DJ or a band to play, get a space... a rec room, community center or church... or people who want to open up their homes. Local businesses or artists might volunteer door prizes that can be raffled off at the party. And ask for a $10 contribution for tickets.
This should happen in cities and towns all across the country—parties in the neighborhoods of the oppressed, as well as parties hosted by people with more means, and parties bringing together people of different backgrounds—all during the same week, December 26 to December 31, so that whatever is raised from one party contributes to the whole effort to get BA Everywhere.
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Give a Gift That Matters
BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian, is a book of quotes and short essays that speaks powerfully to questions of revolution and human emancipation. "You can't change the world if you don't know the BAsics."
The Prisoners Revolutionary Literature Fund has sent over 700 copies of BAsics to people imprisoned in the U.S. $13,000 is needed to send 1,300 more. Many prisoners have taken up BAsics as a lifeline to the world and shared it with others. They have written about its impact on how they view the world and their desire to be part of changing that world, and transforming themselves in the process.
As part of the "BA Everywhere Campaign," contribute $20 and get a copy of BAsics for you, a family member or friend. Your gift will also buy a copy of the book for a prisoner.
This gift package includes a beautiful hand-drawn card that will let your family member or friend know that this same book is reaching one of the 2.3 million people held behind prison bars in the U.S.
Get your gift pack in time for the holidays from Revolution Books/Libros Revolución. BAsics for prisoners can be purchased individually at revcom.us or from PRLF (see p. 14 of this issue).
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Fundraising for Occasioned by the Publication of BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World
As we go to press, the fundraising for the film Occasioned by the Publication of BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World is in its final hours. Thanks to everyone for participating. Check online at revcom.us for online reports of how we did, what we learned, and plans going forward.
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