My favorite thinktank is in financial trouble! Just got the following email from Paul Kurtz:
Dear Friend:
The Center’s vision stands threatened by today’s worldwide financial crisis. The crisis has struck hard at the Center for Inquiry and its affiliate organizations — including the publishers of Free Inquiry and Skeptical Inquirer magazines. That is why I am appealing to you, dear friend, to help us overcome the grave fiscal crunch that the Center for Inquiry and its affiliates now face.
What do I mean by “grave”? I have completed a careful review of our finances. If we fail to raise an additional $865,000 by the end of the year, the Center for Inquiry and its affiliates will be compelled to enact harrowing cutbacks…cutbacks that will spare nothing, not even core operations. The Center for Inquiry has always depended on the support of readers and friends like you. With your generous support we have thrived; by that means we will survive our present adversity. We will survive — and so much more. But only if you help!
We believe that the Center for Inquiry has a vital role to play in our contemporary civilization. All too often we find ourselves the lone voice of rationality, surrounded by a discordant cacophony of faiths and irrational beliefs. We strive to promote scientific methodology and science education. We have a positive and affirmative message. President-elect Obama has said “all things are possible,” and we agree. We believe that human beings can and should strive to achieve the goals they consider worthy, no matter how difficult these may seem. This attitude that “all things are possible” is exemplified in the Center for Inquiry’s ambitious agenda: to defend reason, science, and freedom of inquiry even as we create new secular institutions as alternatives to the ancient religions.
Consider that the global community may actually be more receptive to secularism today than ever in history. Today’s economic predicament could not have struck at a more challenging time — or at a time when our ideals face so bright a potential.
Yes, “all things are possible,” but not without the financial resources to fund them. The vital work of the Center for Inquiry and its affiliates cannot be sustained without your support. Your generosity, in concert with that of other readers and friends, can prevent an intolerable outcome.
Please take a moment to watch this video to see what other secular scholars are saying about the Center for Inquiry and to remind yourself why our work here is so important.
On behalf of the entire staff of the Center for Inquiry and our associates and volunteers worldwide, I invite you to make your most generous possible contribution. Please, may we hear from you very, very soon?
Very sincerely yours,
Paul Kurtz
Founder and Chair
The Center for InquiryP.S. All contributions are fully tax exempt as provided by law.
To make a donation by phone please call 1-800-818-7071, or click here to download a pledge form and fax the completed form to (716) 636-1733.
These are the guys who put out the fantastic podcast Point of Inquiry. I’ve been thinking of joining them for awhile, and perhaps I will now… after some budgeting of my own.
