What do we, as writers, hope for? Some of us hope to change the world. We may also hope — is it so much to ask? — to be remembered.
I attended a great talk recently by Laurie Wolf of the Foraker Group, and she mentioned that no one grows up saying, “I want to be a fundraiser!” I certainly didn’t. But a funny thing happens when you have just the right project and an absolute certainty that the time is right, that good things are happening, that history is being made. Suddenly, “selling” that project, and raising money for it, isn’t so onerous. It feels pretty comfortable, in fact.
So here I am, an accidental fundraiser, asking you to consider changing the world a little bit, and ensuring that you will be remembered for having acted early and with confidence. I’m not going to make this request all summer long. You’ll hear it at this blog for the last time this season, as we near the July 1 deadline for our initial fundraising campaign.
For a $100+ contribution (which also includes your first-year membership), you will make a big difference and be remembered forever as a Founding Donor — one of the people who helped launch the 49 Alaska Writing Center. If you’re interested in contributing more — or less — we’d like to hear from you, too. It all helps. As long as you fill in the member/donor form at right and/or send me a note today or tomorrow, we’ll make sure your name is entered as having given before the July 1 deadline.
We have raised just over $12,000 since we launched the writing center on April 28. Many of you reading this post are the people who have already contributed — and for that, we thank you! Our first full-year budget is about $76,000. We have a diversified and innovative model that includes revenue from several sources, but a significant proportion of our operations will be funded by individual contributions, especially during our first three years, which will be the most challenging phase of our existence. That’s why donors and members matter so much.
If you’re thinking of contributing, know that you’ll be joining a great group of folks from all over our state, including many generous Alaska writers and book-lovers, from librarian Charlotte Glover in Ketchikan, to poet Peggy Shumaker in Fairbanks, to writer-musher Debbie Moderow in Denali, to storyteller Brett Dillingham in Juneau. (There are many more names, and I’ll be listing them all in an upcoming e-newsletter; thanks again to all of you wonderful people!)
P.S.: Not ready to join or contribute, but have a question or want to be added to our writing center newsletter list? Write to me at lax@alaska.net
Thanks to the folks who responded to this post with final-24-hour donations. You are wonderful! We are motivated and humbled by your generosity and by your desire to be part of something bold and new.