As of press time, the total collection stood at $9,400, less than one-third of where it should be. In the third week of the fund drive we took in $2,585, one-fifth of what we now need in each of the last five weeks of the drive to make the international goal of $85,000 by May 17.

Fund supporters everywhere need to approach this with the same campaigning spirit that has marked the subscription drive. The 990 subs sold to date to the Militant and Perspectiva Mundial should encourage readers to donate and simultaneously reach out to every potential contributor, whether it be at literature tables on the streets, on the phone, over a coffee or a beer, on a picket line or at work.

Each success in the sales campaign boosts the need for timely donations, since every introductory subscription depends on a subsidy that can be a drain on finances.

The appeal is part of both the annual budget and the working weekly income of the socialist press. Without it, printers, mailing services, and other vendors can’t be paid on time. Added to these weekly costs are the special expenses of reporting trips, which have been organized so far this year to Cuba, Palestine, and Venezuela.

Fund-raising meetings, scheduled in many cities, will reap more benefits if they are part of a steady, daily effort.

“Twenty-three people jammed the Pathfinder bookstore here for a meeting featuring Róger Calero, associate editor of Perspectiva Mundial,” said Bob Stanton from Philadelphia on April 12. Held two days earlier, the event was entitled, “Oppose the Imperialist Offensive against Working People: Fight for a ‘New Europe’ and a ‘New America.’”

“We collected $1,000 at the event, and raised $1,200 in new contributions,” Stanton said. Four college students who had bumped into sales campaigners over recent weeks attended the meeting and stayed afterwards for discussion.

Fund supporter David Rosenfeld reported from Omaha April 10 that people who stop to check out newspapers and books at sales tables there have made several contributions to the fund. “We put a donation can on every table,” he said.

To make your contribution, send a check or money order, payable to “The Militant,” to 306 W. 37th Street, 10th floor, New York, NY 10018.

See fund chart  
 
 
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