by Joe Courter
Hello readers. Glad you are here in this slightly expanded 32-page Iguana. This is more of an ask than the usual passive box on the page inviting your support. The Iguana sustains itself on its advertisers and its friendly readers, some of whom get it mailed to them, or get the emailed link, or just randomly pick it up and kick in. No one gets paid on the staff (me included) and this system has worked well; we (Beth, Jessica, Pierce, those who write articles and those that help distribute the paper) have a process of turning out the paper that works and that we feel good about doing.
Ways to donate nowadays have changed, with both periodic bank transfers account to account, and through Paypal. Some folks help the Iguana out this way, and it is pretty damn convenient. If so moved, please do this. However …
This is a request for you to help out the 501(c)3 Civic Media Center, an organization I have been part of for 30 years (they are separate entities that share me). Iguana subscribers already get the opportunity to help the CMC with their renewals; the Iguana donates 50 percent of renewals over $20 to the CMC, and people have been generous enough to both keep the Iguana afloat and share funds with the CMC.
The CMC is coming out of Covid with organizations holding regular meetings, a weekly food distribution service, and a monthly free store. The doors are open again for the book and zine libraries to browse and in the case of books, check out. Reading groups meet regularly, there are music shows again, and of course the Poetry Jam is still going … persisting right on through Covid. (See adjoining article by CMC coordinator Sloan for more details.)
If a bunch of you Iguana readers were to start making a small donation once a month through your direct deposit from your bank or use the Paypal button on the CMC website (www.civicmediacenter.org) to set up recurring donations, it would be great. A one-time donation can be done via paypal.me/cmc4ever. It would all add up to help with the CMC’s sizeable rent, utilities, and coordinator pay obligations. Having a solid regular base would take the pressure and worry of monthly fundraising, and maybe let them do some equipment upgrades. Generosity during Covid got the CMC through when those stimulus checks went out, as well as great work by then coordinator JoJo Sacks creating some productive online fund raising when most of us were stuck at home, not going out spending money. Now we are all back, busy in our lives.
Please be one of the people who will do this out of the thousands of readers this paper has. Be a friend and supporter of the CMC. (Checks are still accepted of course, send them in to the CMC at 433 S. Main St., GNV FL 32601.)