This isn’t a joke — Autostraddle is having a fundraiser!

In a time when digital resources and connection are more vital than ever — including workplaces that employ LGBTQ people sustainably — Autostraddle wants to not only keep our lights on, but ensure they’ll keep burning as brightly as possible. Autostraddle is more than a website; it’s a community, a library of information for LGBTQ women and non-binary people at every stage in their queer lives, a place that on its best days can feel like home. Last year’s summer fundraiser aimed to elevate Autostraddle from just surviving to earnestly thriving in 2019, a level we knew we’d need periodic fundraisers to maintain.

But when COVID hit, we didn’t know what to do about the Spring fundraiser we’d already been planning. How could we ask for help for our little gay magazine amid a global pandemic? As terrifying news continued rolling in, we found ourselves re-affirming that we still had to try: this community is unlike anything else on the internet. We’ve been working hard through the uncertainty that everyone is dealing with right now to be a beacon of stability for our readers and for our team. Because when we get out of this, we’re going to need this vibrant, resilient, reliable space for LGBTQ women, non-binary and trans people to still be here. We need to weather this time along with you, to provide a safe harbor, and to remain for the people who still need to find us in the future that lies ahead.

We’re hoping with your help, we can make it through this crisis without doing what so many other publications have done in recent days: cut pay, furlough staff, lay people off, decrease content and in some cases, stopped publishing altogether. We want to keep offering the same unlimited job-protected paid sick leave we always have and to provide monetary help to writers struggling after job loss. We’ve got a lot going for us: a modest budget, no office (and thus no rent), no debt, and no printed product to distribute. We don’t need lockdowns unsafely lifted to “get back to business”: we just need you.

We know your support comes with a responsibility to our queer community to do better and be better, especially when it comes to racial inclusion, trans representation and financial stability. That work is ongoing. Since July, and because of your support, we’ve made several new hires: Deputy Editor Kamala Puligandla, part-time Trans Editor Xoai Pham, and our A+ and Fundraising Director, Nicole Hall. We brought on 15 new writers, thus building a majority-POC writing team, raised rates, and allowed ourselves to dream bigger — you can read more about our work since the last fundraiser here.

We are *still* not rolling in ad revenue the way we think we deserve, and as ad spending declines during the pandemic, we’re not sure what to expect in 2020. We’ve worked with some incredible clients over the last year, but even in a good year, a community-supported space for queer women that talks openly about sex will never survive on ad revenue alone. We don’t know what the next few months hold, but we know that we need your help. We know there are many worthy causes right now, but if you can, please consider making a donation to Autostraddle.

Autostraddle has been there for you through loneliness and heartbreak, through first love and second loves and hook-ups and friendships — through celebration and career moves, family conflicts, political turmoil, queer joy, and so much more. For many, we were there for you before you came out anywhere else. For others, we’ve been there for you through a journey of finding yourself and discovering your identity and who you are.

We are so grateful to you all, our friends and chosen family. You do amazing things — you’ve supported us through over a decade, pushed us to become better and more inclusive, and formed a community that’s outlasted almost everything on the internet by sheer force of your willingness to show up for each other. Your incredible drive and potential have meant so much to us, and to others — last week, a shining group of Autostraddle community members who also believe Autostraddle should stick around, and who believe in you, came together to pledge $23,000 as a match gift! They’re betting on *you* and if you can help us reach our $50,000 challenge goal, we can unlock that incredible $23k gift and use all of this support to keep being what you need us to be. Will you help us meet our challenge goal? Every dollar helps us get closer!

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