Public Citizen : *''Please Read''*

why this matters so much

Last year, we had 3,210 online donations in September.

So far this September, we’re at 1,512 — not even half.

Please see my earlier message (copied below in case you missed it) about why a shortfall right now matters so much.

Thank you.

- Robert

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Please take a minute to read through this update.

We are just days from a make-or-break deadline.

How things go over the next few days will directly impact how aggressive Public Citizen can be over the next twelve months.

That includes all our work to confront authoritarianism, protect voting rights, ensure election integrity, and defend democracy as our country heads into what may well be the most consequential election in its history.

Why?

Because Public Citizen’s fiscal year ends at midnight this Saturday, September 30.

I know the phrase “fiscal year ends at midnight” is no “Ask not what your country can do for you ...”

This is an absolutely pivotal moment nonetheless.

Like many nonprofits, Public Citizen operates on what accountants call a fiscal year, which is different from the calendar year for reasons related to bookkeeping, taxes, etc.

What it means, in a nutshell, is that we are about to close the books on one year and begin the next.

Historically, then, the last few days of September have been rivaled only by the last few days of December when it comes to the online donations that are essential to powering the work you and Public Citizen do together.

(And remember, we neither seek nor accept “help” from Big Business and Uncle Sam — our independence and integrity just aren’t for sale. So, everything this shared project called Public Citizen gets done is possible thanks to folks like you chipping in what they can at junctures like this.)

But we are facing some hard realities this time around:

• Everyday Americans are under intense financial pressure and uncertainty caused by the insatiable greed, myopic mismanagement, rank profiteering, and political interference of Big Business.
  

• Many people are feeling tapped out from donating to candidates running for local, state, and national office.
  

• And you’re no doubt getting emails from other organizations noting September 30 as a deadline for one reason or another. (Perhaps with gimmicks like ALL-CAPS subject lines, garish formatting, gratuitous graphics, misleading “membership status” alerts, and more.)
  

So if this is not a good time for you to donate to Public Citizen, we understand.

If you can, please contribute today.

You won’t be alone.

A longtime supporter — in recognition of just how critical this deadline is — has offered to match every contribution dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000.

I’ll say that again:

Every donation made today in response to this message will be matched dollar-for-dollar.


Better still, sign up as a Monthly Donor today and your contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar each and every month for one full year!

Thank you for reading this.

Thank you for anything you can chip in.

And thank you for everything you do as part of Public Citizen.

It really does matter.

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen

P.S. If donating today is not a good fit, that’s okay. I hope you’ll understand that I need to ask now and again so that we have the real-world resources to carry out all the essential work you and Public Citizen are doing together.