You might recall our financial report of a year ago. We were flush, we thought, so we patted ourselves on the back and raised our salaries (to $115/wk.). Then we embarked on a promotional campaign (exchanging mailing lists with other magazines and direct mailing of sample copies). Now our subscriptions are up, but so are rent, printing, postage and supply costs. We're running a monthly deficit that has forced us to forego salaries since June, cutting life a lot closer to the bone than is comfortable even for seasoned "living lightly" types like ourselves. At first we thought it was just us. Then we noticed that nearly every other magazine we read is pleading for assistance. WIN is on the brink, and so is In These Times. Seriatim, New Times, People & Energy and Seven Days are only a few of the casualties that have folded recently. Then we watched as Harper's went under, despite its 130-year history and 300,000 readers. "The small press is in an even worse position than magazines like Harper's," write our partners in poverty at In These Times, as it has to derive its income from circulation which, in tum, is limited primarily to subscriptions. In other words, "the small press must rely on the least profitable source of publishing revenue." We need your help. The next few months are crucial. We've been surviving off of savings, consulting contracts, and part-time gigs while we develop plans and write proposals to strengthen RAIN's economy. We might as well be·blunt about itwe need your money (we are tax deductible)-but we need other kinds of support too. Show RAIN to a friend. Or tell us the names of friends who might be interested. We'll send them a flyer. In fact, we'll send you a bundle of flyers if you can help us by distributing them in your workplace, community, on campus, at energy fairs, etc. We know that RAIN often gets passed from hand to hand, and we appreciate that extra distribution-but perhaps the last person on the line could get his/her own subscription and start yet another distribution chain? (Besides, then you'd get to see RAIN first!) Aug./Sept. 1980 RAIN Page 23 Other magazines are often our best resources. Reviews of RAIN by other magazines that find us helpful would likely boost our subscriptions too. And like we said, we need moneywhatever you can spare. If you've been "living lightly" as a RAIN subscriber we're sorry to say we're raising that rate to $9.50/year. It's still a bargain. If you really can't swing the new rate send us a letter and maybe we can work something out. If you represent an institution (library, government agency, solvent community group, etc.) we're setting a higher institutional rate for you. Them that's got can give a little more for them that's not. "The small press," concluded our compatriots at In These Times, "is the only medium where serious analysis and programs can be presented and discussed, and where the germs of future movements can be nourished." It is ironic that the same recession that has thrown into question the viability of our economic system may simultaneously destroy the means by which to create alternatives to it. This issue marks the end of our sixth year in print and we hope to see RAIN continue for at least another six. For all our financial worries, we're feeling really good about the magazine and about our work together. Like grass growing through cracks in concrete, we're not about to give up easily. When we're not putting together the magazine we're doing whatever we can to make RAIN viable (e.g., writing proposals, strengthening our ties with other groups, pursuing consulting contracts . . ). Now we're looking forward to hearing from you . . . 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