BY MARTÍN KOPPEL
Readers and supporters of the Militant and Perspectiva Mundial are busy preparing to kick off an international campaign for the Militant Fund, which starts September 23 and concludes December 3. They are projecting public fund- raising meetings along with other plans to reach out broadly to other readers for support.
The Militant would like every reader to join this campaign, make a generous contribution, and raise contributions from others.
The Militant is a workers' newspaper. We are proud of the fact that its subscription base and correspondents are mainly working people, and that it depends on workers financially to come out every week. This has been true since the first issue of the socialist paper rolled off the presses in 1928.
"The Militant doesn't get money from businessmen, bankers, or commercial advertisers like the capitalist press does," said editor Steve Clark. "Our paper is bound politically and financially only to the working class. As our masthead says, we are `published in the interests of working people;' and that's where we get our financial support too. We wouldn't have it any other way."
Along with its sister magazine in Spanish, Perspectiva Mundial, the Militant will need contributions in the vicinity of $130,000 to help meet basic costs over the next year, from printing to shipping and promotional expenses. These funds will also allow the paper to continue its unique, firsthand coverage of international political developments from around the world.
In July, at a rally held during an international socialist conference in Ohio, several hundred supporters of the socialist press made pledges to the Militant Fund. After returning to their respective cities, they began to discuss and take on collective goals for the fund in their areas. Supporters of the two publications have made plans to systematically approach as many of their co-workers, fellow political activists, and regular readers as soon as possible for contributions to the fund.
Every week, between 4,000 and 6,000 people read the Militant, either through their subscription or buying the latest issue. Another 1,000 to 1,500 read the monthly Perspectiva Mundial. Many of these readers would be glad to give money to keep publishing the papers they support.
This sizeable pool of potential contributors will soon grow. The Militant Fund starts at the same time as an international campaign to win thousands of new subscribers to both publications. This expanding circulation of the socialist press is a good opportunity to reach out to even broader numbers of working people for financial support.
To get on a campaign footing, it's important for those who have already made pledges to begin making payments from the very first week, and for local fund coordinators to organize these early collections.
In cities around the country, supporters have begun to plan fund-raising meetings in the first few weeks of the drive to make major progress from the get-go. These public meetings will feature talks on major political issues in the class struggle. Also on the speakers panel will be other fighters and readers who appreciate the Militant and want to explain why. A fund pitch and collection will be an integral part of the program.
Starting off right
Militant supporters in Pittsburgh, for example, are
starting off with a bang. They're building a Militant Fund
meeting on September 23, the first day of the campaign, "to
start raising money right away and give us time to follow
up," reported Tony Dutrow from Pittsburgh.
"We're asking three or four subscribers to make brief comments at the meeting, including a Cuba defense activist who is a regular reader of Perspectiva Mundial and also a unionist who's a Militant subscriber.
Readers in Seattle have adopted an ambitious goal of $7,000. "We've already collected $500 of that," said Seattle fund coordinator Chris Rayson. "We're also sending a fund- raising letter to all subscribers and other people in our area, which can then be used as a leaflet."
With the kickoff of the fund approaching, supporters in all local areas plan to send in goals by Tuesday, September 19. Next week, we will publish a chart listing all local goals and the international target for the fund.
We urge readers everywhere to send in reports on the fund-raising efforts in their areas. Who are some of the contributors? What are their comments about the Militant? What special steps are you taking to get new contributions? Who is speaking at the Militant Fund meeting in your city?