[Imc-radio] the IMC's financial crisis and YOU!

[faith swords]

Hey everyone,

Tomorrow evening at 8 P.M. is the monthly IMC Steering Group meeting, and
this week, it is VERY important that you attend.  Read below to learn why!

***

At the Outreach Group meeting tonight, we had a long talk about the
financial situation at the IMC. I.m not sure how much folks know about
what's going on, but the IMC is losing _a lot_ of money to monthly
expenses, and the funding set aside to pay those expenses has been
dwindling bit by bit over the past year.

I think that the problem can be traced back to May 2003, when the IMC.s
performance space was closed down by the city of Urbana. (See
http://www.ucimc.org/newswire/display_any/11786 for details.) Through this
space, the Shows Group was bringing in between $500-700 per month. That
money went a long way towards monthly expenses (the rent, bills, etc).

Since the space has been closed (almost a year and a half now), we have
been trying to make up for that sudden loss of income. We have stepped up
work on getting new memberships, and have been requesting additional
donations from those who can donate. We.re doing a big letter
writing/phone call campaign at the end of the month to basically appeal
for emergency funding from the community.

The Outreach Group has come up with a tentative call to action for the
working groups of the IMC. As we see it, the problem is not that we aren't
raising money, but that each working group is doing fundraising for itself
and only itself. There isn't anyone doing general fundraising. If this
trend continues, we could very easily see all the working groups of the
IMC with money in their respective accounts, but without a meeting place
because there is no general funding to pay the rent on our space. I would
REALLY hate to see that happen, and I.m sure everyone else would also hate
to see it happen.

But it is a possibility at this point.

The finance group is currently working really hard to figure out where
exactly we stand income/expense-wise. We should have a complete report for
the Steering Group meeting tomorrow night at 8 p.m.

I strongly encourage everyone from the Radio Group who can attend to do
so. We will be discussing how each working group can use their specific
skills and focus areas to help the IMC raise money and keep Indymedia
alive in Urbana-Champaign.

If anyone also wants to discuss this issue further on-list, send emails to
the general IMC list (imc at ucimc.org) and cc the finance group
(finance at ucimc.org).

Thanks in advance for your help. I hope to see everyone tomorrow!

--Faith

P.S. -- Again, steering group meets tomorrow (Thursday, 8/5) at 8 p.m.