First off, we hit $50,000 over the weekend.
That's amazing.
Thanks so much to everyone who's helping The Tyee swim deeper into national issues and fund a pool of tough-minded journalists and thinkers to do the same. (See below for more writers who have joined the pool.)
That said, we have only one week to go to make it to $100,000 and put a Tyee reporter with an outside-of-Ottawa perspective inside of Ottawa.
For those of you who have campaign fatigue, don't worry. This isn't an ask for money from you (of course we'll take it...). This time, we want your friends. And family. And colleagues. In return, YOU could win a super-natural Tofino, B.C. getaway.
The problem
We think there are people all around B.C. and Canada who don't yet know about The Tyee's feisty, independent journalism. Or, if they know about it, haven't yet heard of the plan to bring more independent muscle to national issues.
The solution
Do you have family in Newfoundland? Cousins in the Yukon? Parents in Ottawa? What about neighbours down the street who you connected with over the communal compost pile? We need you to recruit them.
When you do so, you both get ballots in a contest for the getaway to Tofino. For each friend recruited, you earn FIVE ballots and your friend earns one ballot. The more friends you recruit, the more ballots and the more chances you have to win.
How could this possibly work? Why, by the magic of the Internet, of course. Read on for the details...
The details (this is important so read closely)
1. Go to this page -- and generate your unique Tyee National sign-up URL.
2. Take that unique URL and convince your people to use it when signing up to become Tyee Builders. This is key. They must use your unique URL for us to track the fact that they are your recruits.
Every time someone uses your unique URL, we'll enter you AND that person into the draw to win the Tofino getaway. Again, you get five ballots. That person gets one.
(Note: Everyone already signed up as Tyee Builders during this campaign gets one entry automatically.)
Again, the more folks you recruit, the more entries you get for the contest, and the greater your chance of winning this fantastic prize.
This fantastic prize...
Here's what the good folks at Tofino Tourism have offered:
- Two nights for two at BriMar Bed & Breakfast.
Valid: Nov. 1, 2013 -- June 15, 2014. Advance reservations required. Redemption is subject to room availability. Original gift certificate must be produced upon arrival. - $150 gift certificate for Tofino's popular Sobo restaurant.
No expiration date. Note that Sobo is closed Nov. 25, 2013 to mid-February 2014. - A daytrip for two to Hot
Springs Cove from Ocean Outfitters.
No expiration date. This includes the transfers to and from Hot Springs Cove via an 80-minute boat ride each way.
That's close to $1,000 in Tofino relaxation.
So, again:
1. Go to -- this page -- and generate your unique Tyee National sign-up URL.
2. Convince your friends and family to use that unique URL to sign up to become Tyee Builders.
More writers in the national pool
Last week we announced that some great, tough-minded and insightful writers and thinkers had lined up to contribute work to our national desk. The list included such thoughtful folks as Jess Housty, Glen Coulthard, Lawrence Martin, Stevie Cameron, Jonathan Sas, Judith Sayers, Andrew Nikiforuk and others.
Now we're announcing even more:
Brigette DePape burst on the Canadian scene as the "rogue page" who held up a "Stop Harper" sign in Parliament last year during the Throne Speech. Her reports from the front lines of social activism have appeared in The Tyee, Rabble and elsewhere.
Dennis Howlett, executive director of Canadians for Tax Fairness, was national co-ordinator of Make Poverty History, helping lead successful campaigns for poverty reduction plans at the provincial and federal levels.
Ian Gill is a writer, filmmaker, and social entrepreneur who founded and led Ecotrust Canada and served as CEO of Ecotrust Australia. He has been a reporter and editor for the Vancouver Sun and CBC.
Diana Gibson is a founding director of the Firelight Group research cooperative and Canadians for Tax Fairness, a director of PolicyLink Research and Consulting and a research advisor with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the University of Alberta's Parkland Institute.
Mel Hurtig is the national chairman of the Committee for an Independent Canada and is the founder and former chairman of the Council of Canadians. Among his many bestselling books is The Truth About Canada.
Marci McDonald is one of Canada's top investigative journalists, whose book, The Armageddon Factor: the Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada, became an instant best-seller and Quill & Quire's best non-fiction title of 2010. She served as bureau chief for Maclean's magazine in Paris and Washington.
Martin Lukacs is an investigative journalist and environmental writer for the Guardian. He has broken explosive stories about the government spying on First Nations, oil company cover-ups, the world's biggest geo-engineering experiment and Canada's tar sands lobbying in Europe.
Let's make this happen, people. One week to raise another $50,000. Generate your personal URL and begin drumming up support for fact-driven, independent national journalism now.
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