Friend, can you please read this email?

Friend, earlier this month we sent you the email below explaining that we set a fundraising goal of $550,000 for the month and why it's so important we hit that goal. The fact is that even though we have seen improvements in our revenue, we aren't out of the woods yet. After some in depth conversations, we decided to raise our fundraising goal by $75,000 for a total of $625,000. That means we need to raise another $149,812 by the end of the month. Here's why we made that decision: - We knew Daily Kos would struggle financially for the first few months of the year and we got through that, but unfortunately, we still have to dig out of a budget hole. - Like many other news media outlets, it is getting harder and harder to cover expenses solely on advertising revenue. Big tech like Facebook, Amazon, and Google are sucking up an ever-growing share of the digital advertising revenue while also making it harder for smaller outlets like Daily Kos to compete and cover our expenses. - As the 2024 elections heat up, we need to start focusing our efforts on electing more Democrats and better Democrats up and down the ballot, all across the country. Along with supporting partners in key swing states to help register, educate and turnout voters. [That's why I am asking you again to support independent, progressive news and activism like Daily Kos. Help us reach our August fundraising goal with a donation of $5 or more today.]( [DONATE]( Thank you for all you do, Amanda McKay, Daily Kos --------------------------------------------------------------- I'm going to be upfront with you, friend: We have set a goal to raise to $550,000 in August. [Can you help us reach this goal by donating $5? Here's why it is so important:]( [DONATE]( Every dollar that we raise goes to supporting our work of creating progressive change. We do that by delivering the news from a progressive perspective, providing the tools so our readers can take immediate and effective action on what they are reading, and electing not just more, but better Democrats up and down the ballot. By far, Daily Kos' largest expense is our payroll for our staff of writers, editors, campaign organizers, and administrative support—the people putting in the hard work to create progressive change. The next big expense is our site hosting and technology development. There are other expenses, like legal (we are being sued by anti-vaxxer and Nazi-cavortor Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.), rent for office space in Oakland, CA, and supplies, but for the most part, Daily Kos is pretty simple: We produce news you can do something about—this involves people and a functioning website. Unlike other news media outlets, or even other progressive organizations, Daily Kos doesn't rely on just one source of revenue—we rely on three: community fundraising, advertising, and list building, in which Democratic and progressive campaigns pay for the opportunity to make their case to our readers over email. Unfortunately, two of these sources of revenue have been lagging behind projections for the majority of the year. We knew that heading into the summer months we would see a dip in our grassroots donations. In past years we wouldn't sweat this downturn as much, but as I mentioned, Daily Kos has been facing some financial struggles this year. Back in January we were forced to make deep financial cuts and other changes in hopes of improving our revenue. Finally, after months of work, we are starting to see the impacts of those changes, but we can't backtrack now. Donations of just a few dollars from our readers and activists has been our largest source of income to pay our bills and fuel our work. To be honest, we prefer it this way. We know that in order to keep operating, we have to fight and deliver for what you believe in. [Please support progressive, independent news and activism by making a donation of $5 to Daily Kos or whatever amount is meaningful to you.]( [DONATE]( Thank you for all you do, Amanda McKay, Daily Kos If you wish to donate by mail instead, please send a check to Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612. Contributions to Daily Kos are not tax deductible. Sent via [ActionNetwork.org](. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Daily Kos, please [click here](.