Over the winter, Fightback has been organizing a solidarity campaign to acquire our first office. We are very proud to announce that, due to the amazing outpouring of support we received, we were able to move into an excellent location on 1st January. We want to thank all our readers and supporters, everybody who took out a solidarity subscription, or gave a donation in cash or in kind, for making this possible.
This step forward is a splendid advance for the forces of Marxism in Canada. It goes to show that you do not have to water down your ideas in order to successfully organize. There is a real thirst for Marxist theory and a revolutionary alternative to capitalist austerity.
The numbers behind the campaign are really impressive and exceed all expectations. So far, at the start of February, we have received the following:
Office Campaign donations — over $8,000!
New solidarity subscriptions — over $550 per month!
This, together with many gifts of chairs, tables, electronics, a filing cabinet, and other items, means that we have been able to fully furnish the office out of solidarity donations.
With our new organizing centre, we are able to professionalize the production of political material, have organizing and educational meetings, more volunteers can now come in to do work, we’ve been able to organize collective call-arounds and begin work improving our online presence, and we have space for a bookshop. We can now say that we are a serious force capable of disseminating Marxist ideas and supporting workers and youth in struggle. Coming out of our successful campaign to hire an organizer in Montreal 12 months ago, there is a real sense of momentum going forward. None of this would have been possible without the commitment of a good number of people giving small and medium sized contributions because they support the struggle against capitalism.
Financial independence = political independence
This just goes to show you do not have to rely on bureaucratic sources of financing to really make a difference. In fact, grassroots financing is essential to retain political independence. We have recently seen how those relying upon the charity model have come under attack by the Harper government and have had to depoliticize to retain their state support. Others rely on various bureaucracies, be they trade union, student union, or other funding sources. This is also very dangerous, as those relying on an outside body cannot critique that body. Building upon the grassroots is much harder in the early stages, but in the long run is the most sustainable and successful method of revolutionary organizing. We don’t gain support by hiding who we are; we gain support by promoting Marxist ideas and enthusing those who want to fight capitalism.
With the assistance of our supporters we have achieved great things, but WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP! The combined costs (rent/insurance/utilities/etc.) of the office are over $1,600 per month, and we still have to build our base in order to break even going forward. The campaign is not over and we hope that everybody reading this can do the following right away:
If you are yet to get a solidarity subscription of $5-$50/month, please take one out now.
Please ask your family and friends now if they would be willing to support revolutionary organizing by getting a subscription.
If you have a basic $20 subscription (thanks!), please consider upgrading to a solidarity subscription. We actually lose money on mailed subscriptions due to the new high postage fees.
If you previously had a solidarity subscription (thanks!), please consider upping your contribution by $5 or $10.
Again, thank you to everybody who worked so hard to make this advance a reality. The fight is not over and we still have a lot to do; but if the past is any measure we know we can rely on the support of everybody reading this appeal. Join the fight back.
Contact us at fightback@marxist.ca, or at (416) 461-0304.
