Revolution Tour Fundraising in One Area:
$10,000 in a Month…and That’s Just a Start

April 8, 2019 | revcom.us

From a reader:

In the past month, over $10,000 has been raised in our area! At the fundraising kickoff event for the Tour in February, a compelling vision was put out about the need for the Tour, its objectives, and the impact it could have by taking out revolution and Bob Avakian (BA) straight up to thousands of people and organizing them into this revolution. At that event, seven people agreed to sustain from $20 to $200 every month, and over $400 was raised on the spot.

People have been inspired to donate, raise funds, and sustain the Tour. A few people who have supported the revolution for many years have given very large donations. Others have donated to the Tour on hearing about it for the first time.

Others made a commitment to sustain after a longer process of engaging more with BA’s work. For example, one person paid a lot of attention to BAs speech THE TRUMP/PENCE REGIME MUST GO! In the Name of Humanity, We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America. A Better World IS Possible, then listened to his Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution talk. When the call for the Tour came out, she read it, came to the kickoff event, then decided to sustain every month. The impact of these works was significant in changing this person’s understanding about the possibility of making an actual revolution and how the Tour fits into making that a reality.

Two people decided to sustain because they are really excited about the Tour. They think the revolutionaries have such knowledge, such a plan, and such leadership, but most people know nothing about it. They see the Tour as something that can stir things up and make a difference. They are especially hopeful because younger people are in the Tour and because they will be going out to reach other young people—and because they think you need youth in order to make a revolution.

There are some immigrants who are planning to donate because they are very disgusted by the Democrats, even though they have some hope with Bernie and the new round of women and people of color who just got elected. They think reform is necessary and at the same time think the capitalist system is no good. They are drawn to the Tour and think it’s something that should be known and broadcast throughout the society.

About $1,000 was raised in March at an international food dinner with delicious Iranian, Indian, Chinese, and Italian entrees. There were over 30 people attending, mostly people we have known for a while but also with a smaller number of new people, including several Iranians. One advance was made in going out to stores, restaurants and a café that donated food and funds for the dinner. Six store owners gave who were from the Middle East or North Africa, countries that have been at the receiving end of U.S. wars and aggression. A Yemeni grocery store owner gave $100 when he found out we were not only against Trump but against capitalism.

At a Persian New Year event, Chahar Shanbeh Souri: Festival of Fire, a street fair where people jump over burning tree branches to celebrate, $90 was raised. A few people bought books from our Revolution Books booth and then donated extra for the Tour. People were glad to hear about the Tour, asking questions like “Do you think revolution can really be made here?” Someone asked, “Aren’t you afraid?” (that is, to be going up against this strong government with a message of revolution). Some people who said they were Marxists had a lot of questions about the New Communism.

While there has been sharp struggle with some, all of these examples show the potential to raise the tens of thousands of dollars needed for the Tour to travel across the country.

What We Have Been Learning

A lot of long-time supporters of the revolution who donated still want revolution and have deep respect for Bob Avakian. They have been excited by the vision of the Tour and see it as an important way to bring forward a movement for revolution. Some were also excited by the bold approach of the Tour, especially how it aims to call out the dead-end paths and all the kinds of mental shackles that hold people back. This is also true of some people who have engaged with Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution film and see the Tour as a key part of preparing for revolution.

We have also learned that there is a section of foreign-born people who do not know much about the new communism or Bob Avakian, but they have a deep hatred of U.S. imperialism because of their experiences and what they know about the U.S. and they want to support the Tour. The experience at the Persian New Year tapped into the sentiments of some people who are still drawn to the hope of revolution in this country, even though the new communism is controversial and even as there are different summations of the revolution in Iran.

The majority of funds has come so far from people we know who support the revolution and we’ve only begun to do broad outreach. In doing so, we have found many people are outraged by one or many of the 5 Stops, and this has challenged some of them to turn their faces more towards revolution and the Tour. Some have been inspired by the bold approach taken by the Tour. For example, a couple of them donated after hearing about confronting the “fireman” Al Sharpton with the Lifetime Fire Extinguisher award! This is even while people are looking at things mainly from a framework of working for change within the system or looking towards electoral politics for solutions.

Our approach needs to be sharper in looking at fundraising as a key part of building up organized networks and bringing forward a different culture of people very broadly who see themselves and are acting as part of this movement for an actual revolution. In this we should be utilizing HOW WE CAN WIN—How We Can Really Make Revolution as guidance.

Plans to Go Forward

Our plans for moving forward include broad work at fairs and festivals, yard sales and fundraising parties—and developing sustainers and fundraising projects. One idea is to talk to people who support this revolution and who are involved in organizations about developing networks of sustainers among people in those organizations and involving them in fundraising activities for the Tour.

We also want to get statements from people, written or video about why they are donating and why others should too.

We are planning an internationalist fundraising dinner on May 11 and will call on people to organize for it very broadly, bringing even more people together than the last dinner, and drawing on advances made in building support from stores and restaurants.

An experience in getting a sustainer most recently shows the potential for broadening this effort as well as the importance of seizing on the “moment” presented right now by the impact on society of the Mueller investigation report.

The new sustainer is an owner of a small bakery in a community that has been in the crosshairs of Trump’s fascist attacks on the people. She is someone who has been outraged by the crimes of this capitalist system, concentrated in the 5 Stops and is open to revolution as the solution. But at the same time, she has been a life-long supporter of the Democratic Party. I remembered when I was watching the film by BA, THE TRUMP/PENCE REGIME MUST GO!…, with her about a year ago, she disagreed with the part about the Democrats, saying BA was too one-sided in describing the Democrats, even though she liked the rest of the film.

When I approached her about supporting the Tour by becoming a sustainer, she immediately told me that the Mueller investigation has been fooling people for almost two years, and she criticized herself for being one of such people fooled. She thought the Democrats and the Republicans have been joining together to create illusions for people, like in this Mueller investigation. To make people passive, to string people along by leading them to believe in “there is always a next step” in the process of the system in order to get rid of Trump. She told me that now looking back, “You guys have been right all along and you guys always tell the truth, even though sometimes telling the truth would make people like me feel uneasy.”

She was happy to learn about how the Tour can play a big role in spreading revolution and organizing for revolution. She likes the approach, as shown in the statement of the Tour, of calling out the dead-end streets and mental shackles as bullshit, including calling out the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, as also in the statement.

Asking what she can do to help the revolution and the Tour, she was happy to learn that she can do so by sustaining it on a monthly basis. She gave me $60 as a sustainer for March and April, and she asked me to come collect her sustainer for May.