September 7, 2010

Holding a Bake Sale for Pakistan

Anna Pulley

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Pakistan’s floods are the worst disaster the country has ever weathered, and the UN has said it is worse in terms of impact than Haiti and the 2004 tsunami put together. Twenty million people are homeless or displaced and yet, donations for flood relief are way down. Hearing stories about conditions in the displacement camps, especially problems faced by children, made me want to give. I don’t have a lot of money, but I am a pretty good baker, so that’s why I’m holding a bake sale today at the Mother Jones office to benefit flood victims. A few other employees joined me, and we made dozens of cookies, moist zucchini bread, and a peach-raspberry cobbler. There’s also apple coffee cake, brandy ginger cheesecake, and quinoa cupcakes with fig compote, just to name a few treats. Thanks to our generous employees and building tenants, the sale raised more than $100 in the first hour alone, and donations will be matched up to $500. All proceeds from our bake sale are going to UNICEF’s special children’s fund for Pakistan, or to Merlin, a secular, medical NGO working in the hardest-hit areas. Since you can’t enjoy the baked goods, enjoy some pictures of them, below.

disclaimer: bake sale is not an official Mother Jones event. It is a personal fundraiser.

Bluberry “scuffins” (muffin/scones)

Quinoa cupcakes with fig compote and Greek yogurt frosting

Zucchini bread and brandy ginger cheesecake


WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

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