Why does BuzzFlash keep asking for your financial support?
It's quite easy to answer, in a way. We need it.
BuzzFlash has survived from month to month based on premium purchases from the BuzzFlash Progressive Marketplace and from general donations (not tax-deductible). And we are again at a point where we have to pay our BuzzFlash credit card on Monday are running short. (We have two critical financial need times each month, around the 15th payroll and the 28th credit card due date.)
We receive many questions about our finances, but there are five main ones:
1) Why do you need $50,000 a month to run BuzzFlash?
A) We don't. But about $40,000 plus of that represents premium purchases. However, we only get back about 30% of that amount to use toward BuzzFlash expenses. So let's say theoretically that our total for July (of which we are running far short) is $50,000 and $40,000 of that represents premium purchases. After deducting our costs for the premiums, postage, packaging costs, and labor to ship, we only receive about $12,000 of that toward expenses. So hypothetically, that makes $10,000 in donations plus $12,000, or $24,000 of the $50,000 total goal that can actually be used for our operational expenses. In short, less than half of the fundraising goal can be used to pay expenses.
2) You just post headlines. How come you need about $24,000 a month to run BuzzFlash?
A) We hardly just post headlines. We have several sites as part of the BuzzFlash Internet News Network, including all original content by our staff and others on BuzzFlash.org. We have to edit BuzzFlash.com 24 hours a day. We have to write the BuzzFlash Wings of Justice, Gop Hypocrites, and Media Putz sites everyweek. We conduct an informative interview everyweek with a renowned author or elected official. And the list goes on and on. We are a broad progressive news network, not just a bunch of headlines.
We also have a staff of five full-time employees, two interns, two technology consultants and other consulting expenses. We have rent to pay, taxes, gas, public transportation subsidies, computer costs, more than $2,000 a month in server costs, several thousands a month in healthcare costs, insurance costs, utilities, DSL, hardware costs, office supplies, airlines fees, etc. We are frugal. The two owners of BuzzFlash only receive a salary of $20,000 a year and have leant BuzzFlash funds on several occasions, including now.
The Huffington Post reportedly had a capitalization of 10 million dollars by investors and is meant to make a profit as a business venture.
3) Why don't you accept advertising?
We are idealistic. We believe that advertising is the source of creating a consumer society that is skewed toward excess consumption and the control of corporations over our daily lives. We also believe that even many progressive Internet sites are compromised because of their excessive dependency on advertising for income. Call us Don Quixotes, but no one can buy our opinions our influence what we say because in the back of our minds we might be worried about losing their advertising, and that includes politicians and non-governmental organizations. (Any banners you see on BuzzFlash are for items in the BuzzFlash Progressive Marketplace. We decide what to post and will not accept any money for advertising any product that we sell.)
4) Why don't you charge subscriptions?
Because that would keep people with limited incomes from reading BuzzFlash. It violates our mission to limit our content to people who can afford it.
5) What can I do to help?
A) Buy from the BuzzFlash Progressive Marketplace and please tell your friends and relatives to purchase progressive items from there. Also, let others know about the growing "Everything Obama" BuzzFlash Progressive Marketplace section. Part of the BuzzFlash mission is to make a growing home for progressive mechandise on the Internet, so that consumer decisions can help reshape the politics of consumption.
You can also donate directly to BuzzFlash or make a monthly donation by going to the bottom of the BuzzFlash Progressive Marketplace homepage. Making a direct donation (not tax-deductible) contributes 100% to defray our expenses, not just around 30%.
We need your support. It is not a boy who cried wolf story. We are trying to do something remarkable -- and have succeeded for more than 8 years.
Keep the dream alive.
