Thank you so freaking much.

Our numbers and takeaways.   [Mother Jones]( MoJo Reader, You might remember the big, important online fundraising drive we recently finished. The two of us sent you emails aplenty about it, and MotherJones.com had quite large fundraising asks about how damn vital it was to finish our fiscal year, back on June 30, at break-even—or dang close. And dang close it was. It looks like our online total is going to be about $35,000 short of our $390,000 June goal when all is said and done (the accounting isn't as simple as it would seem, so numbers aren't truly final yet). But in a year that was [distressingly worse]( for the journalism field than the already grim trends pointed toward, it's hard to beat ourselves up too much when we—when you—brought in about $1,365,000 of the $1,400,000 in [online donations]( that we built our operation on around this time last year. So, let's count some blessings and share some takeaways. First, of course: THANK YOU SO MUCH. Thank you to the some 7,100 of you who pitched in with a donation during our June campaign. Thank you to the additional 1,900 of you who joined the ranks of our sustaining, monthly donors last month. Thank you to those who [subscribe to our magazine](, and/or David Corn's [Our Land]( personal newsletter that helps us pay the bills. Thank you to those who don't, in crass industry terms, "monetize your relationship" with us at all—but who read and share our work, which makes everything else work in the first place! Despite that $35,000 or so gap—and the immense pressures facing journalism, facing us, right now—the two of us are feeling oddly optimistic about it all. We talk about how we have zero wiggle room and have already cut everything we can a lot during our big fundraising drives, and both are true. So, the shortfall means we have to raise $35,000 more than our already aggressive, $1.4 million goal for the fiscal year that started on July 1 and, let's see, now has 352 days left to get there. But you know what? Those 1,939 new monthly donors from June are pitching in $5,854 a month, and that will really help—this year, and the year after that, and the year after that. In fact, June saw the highest number of [new monthly donors]( in almost seven years—when we first started asking readers to sign on for ongoing gifts online, after [a major undercover investigation]( that made a strong case for doing so. Another reason for optimism: The fundraising emails we sent in June were consistently stronger than normal, and the main asks on our site saw 2x, 3x, or even more, donations come in (when controlled for traffic) than we typically see during a big campaign. Those are things we can and will build on. So yeah, coming up a bit short stinks—but we've learned so incredibly much over the challenging last year when it comes to earning the [online donations]( we need to fuel our reporting, and that's awesome. It is also all because [we listened]( to you last fall! Here are our big takeaways since then. - We've made huge progress in talking about the urgency of hitting our fundraising goals: How [Mother Jones lives paycheck to paycheck](, in terms most everyone can probably identify with, and that means our online fundraising goals aren't some arbitrary nice-to-have. - We've gone into the [gory details]( of our income and expenses, and shared [the hard decisions]( we've had to make while constantly managing it all. - We've largely stepped back from the chaos of the daily headlines when asking you to support our work: Instead, focusing on the constant core of what Mother Jones always has been and always will be. - We've made headway at better explaining our history and how reader support is the singular (well, the collective) thing that lets us do the type of journalism you want us to do: Go deep, which is too rare in today's media landscape, prioritize and stick with underreported beats, look at the forces behind the headlines, and bring a unique voice and perspective to most anything we write. - And this new approach is really resonating with a lot of you, which bodes well for the future—and for hopefully being able to make this current fiscal year a bit less harrowing than the last few. Because we 100 percent need to find ways to grow our online donor base, especially as the bottom somehow keeps falling out of the news “industry," and especially as independent journalism continues to really freaking matter. But we know we’re pointed in that direction, thanks to you, and we have some exciting plans ahead for this next year. That—taking big journalistic swings, and landing them—is what this is all about after all, and we're so grateful that you're part of it. It's stressful as hell at times, but it truly is joy for the two of us to tackle it all with you and see so many of you step up and offer donations, words of encouragement, or anecdotes about how we fit into your media diet and life. Our [inbox is always open](, and we appreciate that you make room for us in yours. Thanks for reading, and for everything you do to make Mother Jones what it is. Onward, Monika Bauerlein CEO Brian Hiatt Online Membership Director P.S. We plugged this once last month, but now seems like a good time to again mention the Mother Jones Legacy Society—where folks [include Mother Jones in their wills and estate plans](. Research shows most "legacy donors" are not wealthy folks who give a lot in their lifetimes, but ordinary people who can make a huge impact with their legacy. [Check it out](, and [reach out to our colleague Lisa](mailto:lschachter@motherjones.com?subject=Legacy%20Society) with any questions if you'd like to explore that tremendous way to help us keep charging hard. [Donate](   [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755