I just took a look at our fundraising page, and I realized that with only two full days until September, we’re still pretty far below our half-way point.

August is tough. It’s that drop down, drag-out last stretch of summer. Last minute trips to the cabin or the beach. School supplies. Homeschool books. Expenses. Add to that what’s going on in Houston right now, and you’ve got other good causes to give your money to.

I’ve said before that $20K/month is a stretch goal. We want to grow. We want to do a better job taking care of our featured contributors. We want to hire the help we need to do the things that are needed. But even without the room for growth, we need to be hitting at least 50% of that target to sustain present operations. We’re currently at about 35%. That means we’re coming into September short.

I’ve also said before that I don’t care for being in perpetual fundraising mode. The only thing worse than asking for money is asking for it all the time. I’d much rather just put my head down, focus on content, and let things run on autopilot. (I’d also like a six month vacation with my family in Europe, but dreams are just dreams.) I ask you each month to do what you can because I believe it’s more realistic than trying to hit large quarterly goals. Most of our financial supporters give what they can each month, even if it’s only $5 or $10. When enough folks do that, we come out just fine. I’m sure the professional fundraisers out there would tell me I’m doing this all wrong. Maybe I am, but I do what I do.

So I put this apostolate again, at this moment, in the hands of Our Lady. I entrust it to her Immaculate Heart. Through her intercession and your help, we hope we’ll be able to raise that last $3,000 to put us over the 50% mark. If you’re not able, please pray that we find the means. And please pray for all the readers and financial supporters of the 1P5 community.

If I’m being candid, I have the feeling that as temperatures start cooling down, things in Rome are going to heat up again. We’ve been given a reprieve, but it isn’t going to last. I have no doubt we’ll have our work cut out for us this fall, even as we try to continue to bring you more faith-building content along with the news.

God bless you all, and thank you for your readership and support!