30 Days Hath...Bucktember
Greetings forthcoming donors! We commence the 2017 Fall Webathon of your favorite website, and, in order to gain your attention and have you scratch your head with one hand as the other reaches for your wallet, we have dubbed the campaign “30 Days Hath Bucktember.” This is an obvious mash-up of Buckley (always deserving of our attention), September (to lend an air of autumn, better than “30 Days Hath Bucktober”), and 30, which implies that this effort will last a month. (But do count on Day 33 coming before we stand athwart the webathon yelling Stop.)
If you’re already set to donate, you can do that right here. And thanks!
If not, let’s ask and answer: Why this fundraiser? And, why does it merit your participation?
Here’s the cold, hard fact: It is an inherent function of opinion-media organizations that revenue (via advertising) abhors controversy — and controversy being our trade, the result is that our bills always outpace our income. And by “always,” we mean since 1959, when Bill Buckley turned to the subscribers of his then financially struggling three-year-old journal and asked them to help keep the lights on, the presses flowing, the doors open, the conservatism propagated.
They did. We hope you will, too.
So there is a general need. And it’s likely that some shred of your contribution will be applied to not-so-glamorous things such as paper for Rich Lowry’s printer, sticky notes for Kat Timpf, and dishwashing liquid for the NR kitchen.
But we do also have some specific needs that we truly wish you’ll help us pay for. There are four items.
1.) We must hire a tech guru for NRO’s burgeoning podcast operation. Right now, Charlie Cooke plays producer (heck, he has a master’s degree in audio stuff!). But the workload here is inundating, and since we aim to double our programming over the next year, plus add original video content to NRO, we need a dedicated full-timer for these tasks. We’re figuring the cost, when we factor in all items (salary, benefits, equipment, fees) will be $85,000. There’s no question this is a very worthwhile cost: More and more people get their conservatism via headphones, and we plan to expand into podcasting very aggressively.
2.) Related is critical video software that is going to cost $60,000. Geeze. But: The smart people here say this investment will not only allow us to provide much more content, it will also pay off in great multiples. So we’re confident you’ll find that this alone will make your generosity worthwhile.
3.) Also related: We have hired a revenue officer. This kind of position is very much not inexpensive. That’s a double-negative way of saying “costly.” We’re talking over $100,000, all in (salary, benefits, necessary software programs, travel, etc.). But, here too, there will be a terrific payoff in anticipated revenue from our talented new hire. Indeed, we might see so much payoff that, someday, we may not need to conduct any more webathons!
4. Last, we want to expand out intern programming. In a previous webathon, we raised $25,000 for our summer-intern program. We have so much interest in this area — and we have had lots of success in finding and training young and talented conservative writers — that we’re looking to double the amount. So we’re looking for an additional $25,000.
All told, these items will run NR close to $300,000. In this Fall Webathon, we’re hoping to raise $200,000 from our selfless friends who believe that they are making an investment in expanding conservatism, and in helping NR restructure itself into an outfit that is economically viable.
We urge you: Please help NR by making a generous donation. You can show that support here. And if you have some comments and thoughts and even criticisms to share, please leave them. We take all comments seriously.
If you prefer to contribute via PayPal, do that here. If you are old-school and want to send a check, make it payable to “National Review” and mail it to our new address: 19 West 44th Street, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10036.
Help make the kind of conservative wisdom you can find only on NRO available to millions more here in America and around the globe.