Often times, as I scramble from writing one story to another, spend my days (and often nights) recording and editing video or podcasts, or try in vain to work my way through an overflowing email inbox, correspondence from readers — real, physical notes or letters — begin piling up on my desk.
Today, I took a break from everything else and started reading my way through them, and I wanted to share with you a few things that I found.
Some of the notes were simple and to the point:
“We read your email daily. You’re doing an essential job keeping us informed.”
And:
“You’re doing a great job. Thank you.”
Another was a bit more in-depth, and very encouraging:
“Thank you for your wonderful articles concerning the faith. I believe your content to be one of the best information sources on the web. And, the quality of the writing is terrific. Please keep up the hard work – you are making a difference!”
Or how about this one? (One of our favorites!):
“You guys are primarily responsible for my finding of Tradition, and I can’t thank you enough for that. Even though it might seem like everyone thinks you’re ‘EVIL’ sometimes, rest assured you’re reaching a bunch of lurkers like me who barely comment or interact, and we don’t think you’re nuts.”
We get letters and emails like this all the time. It can be easy to forget, amidst all the work we’re busy doing to document chaos in the Church or to inform and edify our audience about the Faith, that there are real people out there, usually unseen, reading and listening and watching this work, making decisions based on information we give them, reconsidering their views, and sometimes even changing their lives as a result.
Lots of people.
The support of readers like you is what makes that possible. That support is the reason that we have already reached an audience of nearly 250,000 unique readers in 2019.
What does that look like?
Well, roughly like this:
Plus another one of these:
Plus half again:
(Except they’re not all Michigan fans. But you get the point.)
That’s a staggering amount of people when you stop to think about it, and we’re only a little over half way through the month of February. With ten months left to go in 2019, we’ll be adding quite a few more stadiums worth of readers this year.
And that’s why we need your help.
We provide all of our content — articles, videos, and podcasts — free of charge, but it isn’t free to produce.
Still, we operate on something we call the Matt. 6:33 principle: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”
So far, He certainly has, though it can be a roller coaster at times.
Fundraising is always sluggish at the beginning of a new year, but our workload at that time is usually ramping up. This can make things pretty tight. In January, we finished the month 30% short of our fundraising goal. With only 10 days to go in the month of February, we still have nearly 60% of our goal left to go.
Unlike other publications that have switched to subscription models and hide content behind paywalls to cover costs or run quarterly capital campaigns in the multiple six figures, we try to raise a modest amount of funding each and every month to spread out our needs, lower the burden on our supporters, and cover our expenses to keep things running month to month.
We survive in large part due to the incredible generosity of donors who contribute $50 or more per month to the cause (THANK YOU!!). But with literal stadiums full of readers, even $5 per month multiplied by a great many people goes further than you’d think.
Today I’m here to ask two questions: is the content OnePeterFive provides giving you at least $5 a month worth of value? Is playing a vital role in the fight for the soul of the Church against the enemies within important to you? If so, we hope you’ll join us in the fight as a sponsor of this important apostolate and the growing team of fine people who help to bring it to you.
We simply can’t do this without your help.
Your tax-deductible* donation today — by mail or online — could be just what we need to help the next person discover Tradition, help bring to light the next big story, help keep pressure on the enemies within the Church, make possible the next defense of an orthodox priest unjustly silenced, or continue to help keep untold thousands of Catholics stay “sane” (as we so often hear from our readers) in this time of great difficulty.
We know you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t worth your time. So won’t you please prayerfully consider making a contribution to show your support?
You can be a vital part of our mission to make a real difference in the Church — today.
In Christ,
Steve Skojec
Publisher & Executive Director
OnePeterFive.com
*OnePeterFive is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Federal ID #47-2159793. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
