Regular Financial Sustainers: The Lifeline that Keeps revcom.us and Revolution Operating
June 9, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Each month tens of thousands of people come to revcom.us from around the U.S. and from dozens of countries around the world—including places that are hotbeds of struggle. People are driven to revcom.us by outrages they see and feel—from the mass incarceration of millions in the USA to the worldwide epidemic of rape and the war on women—including attacks on abortion rights. Others come consciously looking for revolutionary theory and leadership.
The network of sustainers, people who have committed to make regular contributions, covers the most basic expenses needed to maintain revcom.us, as well as the print edition of Revolution newspaper. And that network also funds beginning efforts to promote revcom.us online.
How essential is that?
Consider: There's just nothing else on the web like revcom.us—in content or style—where all kinds of people find both philosophical and political challenges to engage and get with the revolution, as well as practical and organizational channels to do so.
Anyone who gets to revcom.us gets exposed to and connected with the only real alternative to capitalism—Bob Avakian's new synthesis of communism, and the leadership of BA. They connect with Revolution newspaper, which is not only a collective educator—stripping away the bullshit and revealing the essence behind big events in society—but also a collective organizer for the movement for revolution.
There is a critical section of people in society who are coming to rely on revcom.us for leadership in building the movement for revolution. They rely on us being here.
The website—revcom.us—can and must play a pivotal role in putting the new stage of communist revolution on the map, and carrying out our strategy for revolution.
Those of you who financially sustain revcom.us and Revolution newspaper fund the work that is required to produce revcom.us. Your regular contributions are the reason that readers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America can connect with revcom.us (in English and Spanish). And they enable the print edition of Revolution to reach people throughout the U.S., including prisoners in 43 states (including 60 prisoners at California's Pelican Bay State Prison). A prisoner in South Carolina wrote, "The 'Revolution' is my breath of freedom. Without it I am lost as to what's really going on outside these gates."
In October 2011, we issued A Call to Our Readers: Subscribe To and Sustain Revolution Newspaper. If you are a sustainer, your contributions are appreciated! Turning in your monthly (or other regularly scheduled) amount is simply essential to revcom and Revolution continuing to operate. If you're not a sustainer, sign up with your local distributor, at the nearest Revolution Books, write us (see below) or click here to become a sustainer now.
It is no exaggeration to say that the people of the world are counting on us all to keep revcom.us and Revolution operating.
And in turn, this website and newspaper rely on you. All this hangs by a thread financially. Our bare-bones budget makes it possible to develop and distribute revolutionary content—starting with making BA and his leadership accessible to a whole range of people. And popular misconceptions to the contrary, the Internet isn't free, nor is it free to develop, maintain, and promote a revolutionary communist website.
In this light, all contributions, of any amount, are precious. But sustainers who contribute between $50 to $100 or more a month are especially critical for us to continue to operate. These donations make a big difference in the world. A generous donor agreed to cover the cost of acquiring photos for revcom.us and Revolution—that allows us to make this content much more inviting and accessible, including to limited-literacy readers.
If you're a sustainer now, your contribution is the lifeline that keeps revcom.us and Revolution operating. Make sure your sustainer commitment is being kept. If you have responsibility to collect contributions from sustainers, now is the time to revisit your list, strengthen people's connections with revcom.us (and Revolution), and catch up on lagging contributions. And if this is all new to you, you can make a critical contribution to the movement for revolution, even as you learn more about it, by becoming a regular monthly sustainer.
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