February 29, 2020

You Do Not Need a Three-Month Supply of Spam

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Why are people stockpiling canned goods and water? The coronavirus, of course. But does that make any sense? Are we really expecting the virus to lead to a collapse of the country, a collapse so complete that water utilities stop functioning and truckers all stop making deliveries?

I understand the logic behind stockpiling an extra month or two of important medicines. A lot of the raw ingredients for pharmaceuticals are made in China, and it’s possible that shipments along the supply chain could be interrupted. Even this seems like a bit of an overreaction, but at least there’s some sense behind it.

But prepping for doomsday? Come on, folks.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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