Important End-of-Year Fundraiser

This is a critical fundraiser to keep Shakesville going.

As I have been before, I want to be very blunt with y'all: To keep doing this job, and to keep Shakesville a safe ad-free space, I need to be making enough through donations to support myself, independently. Although Iain and I combine resources, like many couples, I don't want to find myself in a place where I couldn't support myself on my own if I needed and/or wanted to.

The past couple of years, it has been the year-end fundraiser that gets me — barely — past that threshold and gives me some resources to get through lean months the rest of the year.

So, once again, this is a critical fundraiser for me, in order to keep Shakesville going.

I don't mean for that to sound like an ultimatum: I'm just trying to be as straightforward as possible. Writing content, managing the community, moderating comments alongside the other mods, and engaging with readers via email and social media is a full-time job. I can't do this and hold down another job. I tried it, most of 2016, and it nearly ended me.

So this gig has to pay me a livable wage for my time, and enough to pay contributors for their work, or I need to find another way to make a living.

And just to be abundantly clear: I'm not looking to get rich off this work. I simply want to make enough money that I am able to support myself modestly, in exchange for my full-time labor.

So, if you value the content and/or community in this space, please consider setting up a subscription or making a single end-of-year contribution.

Please click the button below to make a one-time donation:

Or use the below dropdown menu to choose set up a recurring monthly donation:

Subscription Options

A. : $1.00USD - monthly B. : $2.00USD - monthly C. : $5.00USD - monthly D. : $10.00USD - monthly E. : $15.00USD - monthly F. : $20.00USD - monthly G. : $25.00USD - monthly H. : $30.00USD - monthly I. : $40.00USD - monthly J. : $50.00USD - monthly

I cannot afford to do this full-time for free, but, even if I could, fundraising is also one of the most feminist acts I do here. I ask to be paid for my work because progressive feminist advocacy has value; because women's work has value.

So! If you value my work here and/or on Twitter, please remember that Shakesville is run exclusively on donations. I would certainly be grateful for your support, if you are able to chip in.

Thank you to each of you who donates or has donated, whether monthly or as a one-off. I am deeply appreciative. This community couldn't exist without that support, truly. Thank you.

My thanks as well to everyone who contributes to the space in other ways, whether as a contributor, a moderator, a guest writer, a transcriber, and/or as someone who takes the time to send me a note of support and encouragement, some cool art, or anything else you think might give me a smile or fill my lungs with air. (You're usually right!) This community couldn't exist without you, either.

Finally and essentially: Please note that I don't want anyone to feel obliged to contribute financially, especially if money is tight. There is a big enough readership that no one needs to donate if it would be a hardship, and no one should ever feel bad about that.

I mean that. We're all in this thing together.

One of the things I hate most about fundraising is knowing that it might make some people feel bad, if they want to donate but aren't able. I would never presume to tell you how to feel, but please know that I don't want you to feel bad.

What I want is for you to know that, some days, your kind words are the only thing that keeps me going. I need money to survive. It is your encouragement that keeps me doing this work. You support me in many ways, and I am immensely thankful for them all. ♥