Friday, December 19, 2008

Bump up: Our Annual "Keep Hilary in Tea n' Biscuits" drive

Or: "No more Rome pics for you guys until you cough up ten bucks."

...

No, not really.

But we could really use your help.



LifeSite staff is engaging in a novena to Our Lady of Good Remedy.

Wanna know why?

Because LifeSite runs almost entirely on donations, and (bloggers will support me on this, I'm sure) internet readers are really crummy at donating. They get the 'net for free, and figure that it doesn't cost anything to put up a website. But it's not true. And the news is no small undertaking to sift, collate, chase, interview and write. We've got writers in four countries and two continents, web engineers (or whatever they're called) and all kinds of support and techincal staff (all of whom make, and deserve to make more than I). It costs about $350,000 Can. a year to run it all which seems like peanuts when you consider that other international pro-life non-profits (like HLI) run on annual budgets of a couple of million or more. It's a constant source of frustration that we can't do the things we want to do (like a blog/forum) (or getting me a mobile phone) because of lack of funds.

And experience in the pro-life movement, or any non-profit donations-based thing, shows that the real money, the money that actually makes the whole thing keep running, doesn't actually come from the one-shot big donors. It's great to get ten or fifty thousand once in a while, and we put it to good use, but surprising as it seems, it really is the multitude of small donations that most non-profit groups rely upon.

So, I'm not kidding when I say that we could use your help and if you think, "All I've got is ten Euros, or five bucks, of fifty pounds...and look at the financial markets, what difference could it possible make?" Take a look at this:



and ask yourself, "How big is a single snowflake?"

Sooooo,

If you happen to have a few extra shekels you're not doing anything with, you can click here to donate from the US and "abroad", and here from Canada.

(PayPal link, for those who quibble.)


OUR LADY OF GOOD REMEDY

O Queen of Heaven and earth,
most Holy Virgin,
we venerate thee.
Thou art the beloved daughter
of the Most High God,
the chosen mother of the Incarnate Word,
the immaculate spouse of the Holy Spirit,
the sacred vessel of the Most Holy Trinity.
O Mother of the Divine Redeemer,
who under the title of
Our Lady of Good Remedy
comes to the aid of all
who call upon thee,
extend thy maternal protection to us.
We depend on thee,
dear Mother,
as helpless and needy children
depend on a tender and caring mother.

Pray the Hail Mary...

Dear Lady of Good Remedy,
source of unfailing help,
thy compassionate heart knows a remedy
for every affliction and misery
we encounter in life.
Help me with thy prayers and intercession
to find a remedy for my problems and needs,
especially for...

(Fundraising for LifeSiteNews.com)

On my part,
O loving Mother,
I pledge myself to a more intensely Christian life,
to a more careful observance of the laws of God,
to be more conscientious
in fulfilling the obligations of my state in life,
and to strive to be a source of healing
in this broken world of ours.

Dear Lady of Good Remedy,
be ever present to me,
and through thy intercession,
may I enjoy health of body and peace of mind,
and grow stronger in the faith
and in the love of thy Son, Jesus.

Pray the Hail Mary...

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of Good Remedy,
R. That we may deepen our dedication to thy Son,
and make the world alive with His Spirit.


And here's LifeSite's official pitch.

COUPLE ISSUES $10,000 CHALLENGE

We are delighted to report we just received a generous donation of $10,000 from a couple that is challenging other readers to "match or exceed" their gift. They are really hoping their gift will spur others to realize the serious financial need that LifeSiteNews has and will imitate their level of commitment or at least finally make the effort to give whatever amount they can.

They told us they gave such a donation because they highly value LifeSiteNews as an exceptional support for the Culture of Life and that LifeSiteNews "deserves that level of support and even more."

We know there are readers who are capable of making such a gift, to support what Britain's John Smeaton calls "the most widely read pro-life news service in the world."

Are you a reader who can respond to the challenge with a similar or even larger gift? Why not make the decision to do so today,

This campaign is nearing its end. In order to reach the goal of at least covering our operating expense for this past year, larger gifts, as well as many smaller ones, are necessary.

Year to date, including this Christmas campaign, LifeSiteNews total revenues from donations and advertising is $199,409. However, that includes a rare, one time donation of $100,000 received earlier in the year. Without that generous gift from an especially appreciative supporter our situation would be of much greater concern.

We are still about $150,000 short of covering this year's expenses. There are also the months ahead to finance as well as the implementation of new plans to serve you better.

Occasionally we are asked how much of the donations we receive go towards the work that LifeSitenews does. The answer, of course, is all of it. Administative costs are a negligible portion of our expenses. We do not really have a main office, with all our staff working from their homes. Donations processing and our few mailings are mostly done for us by another organization, although we are in the process of making even that less necessary.

LifeSiteNews is one of the most efficient, and yet powerful tools of the Culture of Life. Every single day we reach tens of thousands of readers with the truth about the world's most important issues.

Again, whether you can give $5 or $10,000 or less or more, every personal gift commitment to the work of LifeSiteNews is crucial and hugely appreciated.

If you have any questions or wish additional information, do not hesitate to email us at lsn@lifesitenews.com . We return all telephone calls.

Give a Christmas gift of $5, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000 or more - for life, family and truth.

To donate go to:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/donate/index.html

2 comments:

brendon said...

Fine.

Since you just look so happy in Rome.

Anyway, it's just beer and pizza money.

Well, that's not really true. Like most of my money, it's book money.

But it is Christmas and the good Lord provides.

Happy Christmas to you and the rest of the writers and staff at LifeSite.

Anonymous said...

I'm one of the monthly donors already, but will be bumping up the amount in the new year. Lifesite is great!