I have spent the time with the LPUS FEC reports needed to examine fundraising by the LNC over the past decade.

The numbers are staggering. Looking backward from the present to 1996, fundraising has collapsed, to under $100,000 for August 2005. In the prior nonelection year, the lowest two-month-average was still $110,000 per month.

Totals like those of the past four months—under $110,000 per month—have not been seen with any regularity since 1995, when the dollar was worth far more.

The following column lists the month, year, and income of the LNC. We have some obscurity in 2001, when the LNC chose to hide income and expenditures by filing on a semiyearly basis. However, a million dollars in a half-year is 160 000-170 000 dollars per month, a total reached this year in only one month. Donations are running far below donations in any previous period, going back to the days when the LNC was headquartered in the more unfortunate parts of DC.

Read Sean Haugh’s report on the last LNC meeting, visible at http://ncway.blogspot.com Entries for August 27 and a bit earlier. Do you see discussion of the budget issues? You can find reported a discussion that we need to do fundraising to replace the income lost when dues were shut off, but concern about current income is not strongly voiced by many LNC members.

8 2005 98956.14
7 2005 101195.71
6 2005 103345.44
5 2005 107510.23
4 2005 145663.83
3 2005 181356.10
2 2005 151989.98
1 2005 159956.94

12 2004 118143.83 + last month of November
pg 2004 213826.51 Oct-Nov 2004

• 2004 75312.10 First two weeks of October
  9 2004 136689.04
  8 2004 131241.57
  7 2004 148377.31
  6 2004 207905.90
  5 2004 310631.42
  4 2004 173512.77
  3 2004 291971.46
  2 2004 147003.01
  1 2004 119322.41

12 2003 137225.78
11 2003 114664.60
10 2003 183672.56
9 2003 132546.66
8 2003 206590.72
7 2003 154818.41
6 2003 156098.36
5 2003 93022.34
4 2003 131368.74
3 2003 156701.33
2 2003 189286.15
1 2003 148040.12

12 2002 124245.74 Includes last week November
11 2002 232205.01 Includes half of October
10 2002 91631.63 First HALF of October
7-9 2002 515857.03
4-6 2002 478097.79
1-3 2002 553942.33

B 2001 1037498.90 Second Half-Year
A 2001 1081893.01 First Half-Year

12 1999 158 000
11 1999 212 000
10 1999 250 000
9 1999 186 000
8 1999 170 000
7 1999 257 000
6 1999 341 000
5 1999 220 000
4 1999 193 000
3 1999 277 000
2 1999 194 000
1 1999 224 000

9 1998 218 000
1998 Total 2 521 000

9 1997 204 000
1997 Total 1 849 000

9 1996 300 000
1996 Total 2 188 000

9 1995 93 622
1995 Total 1 036 000

1994 Total 875 000
1993 Total 795 000

I think I’m going to start my monthly pledge this week, something small.