An Open Letter to our Readers
An Open Letter to our Readers
Our readers have been almost unanimous in their praise of Christian Ethics Today. Many write that it is the best Journal they read (see We’ve Got Mail inside). We still have a number asking common questions, which I will try to answer:
- How much does it cost to send the Journal? About $8,000 to $10,000 per issue, or about $60,000 per year—which averages about $25-30 per subscriber.
- How can the Journal be sent free of charge? From 1995 until last summer, when the Center for Christian Ethics (of which the Journal was a part) was established at Baylor, over $40,000 per year came from a few large entities. The rest, $10,000-15,000 came from individual readers. These gifts provided the Journal to over 2500 readers.
- What happened when the Center transferred to Baylor? The large gifts of about $40,000 went with the Center, which was the plan from the beginning. However, the Board of Directors wanted to continueChristian Ethics Today (which the Center at Baylor did not plan to do). In June, 2001, $35,000 was provided by the disbanding Board to keep the Journal alive through 2000.
- How are we doing financially? Now that the Journal is totally independent, our only source of income is from our readers and any who want to support our Mission and Purposes (see Back Page Statement). Here is a summary of our financial support:
June-December, 2000:
64 Individual Gifts: $8387
Sale of Back Issues: $2448
TOTAL: $10,835
January-August, 2001:
1 Special Gift $25,000 (A one-time gift to help us
achieve financial stability in 2001)
85 Individual Gifts $10,139
- What do these figures mean? Certain conclusions seem obvious:
- More individual contributors are needed. Our present subscribers number over 2800 persons—only about 150 of them contribute annually, most about $30.
- Annual total contributions by readers ($20,000) will provide only two issues.
- An additional $40,000 is needed annually to provide six issues per year. Our Board recently met to discuss these realities and various options:
- Increase the number and amount of contributions from readers.
- Continue to seek larger gifts from supporters of the Journal.
- Begin the search for Endowment Gifts—a corpus of $500,000 is needed.
Why am I sharing this with you, the reader? Because YOU are the key to our future. In order to continue publishing the Journal, we need your help. Would you consider:
- Making a minimum contribution of $30 annually–the cost of the Journal you read.
- Increasing by two or threefold what you now give, so that others may read the Journal. (We are providing CET free of charge to students in our colleges and seminaries, to faculty members, to pastors, and recently, to 100 Directors of Missions)
- Soliciting support from people you know who could make a major investment.
- Identifying persons, foundations, and other entities who could provide endowments that would sustain us across the year. Recently a supporter assigned $25,000 in the Baptist Foundation to provide $2500 per year for the next ten years. This is the first of many endowments that we hope will follow.
As you know, the Editor operates out of his home and works diligently to maintain the excellence of the Journal, while controlling expenses. Because of many dedicated people who help us, we have achieved maximum quality for a minimum of expense. At the moment we have $11,600 in our account and we anticipate another $6,000 in 2001 contributions, enough to publish the two remaining issues this year.
My message is the one Foy printed in every issue. Your financial support is “greatly needed, urgently solicited, and genuinely appreciated.” More than ever before, this is true. Thanks for all you do to spread the words of Christian Ethics Today. JET
ATTENDING THE BAPTIST GENERAL CONVENTION OF TEXAS?
DALLAS — OCTOBER 29-30
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