We at Lace on Race promised you we would begin giving you updates on our funding goals, and how well or concerningly we have been doing during any given week, month, and overall for the year.

It’s important that you all know this information, because you are a part of this community, and that includes sharing of both blessings and challenges.

First, blessing. With only two Asks this month, we have been able to meet about 75% of our Basic Budget goal of 2000 per month. I stepped out in faith and compensated admin team, confident that the commitment we as a community made in late 2019 would be met. It is liberating not to feel that I am bombarding you all with appeals, and that a tiny, but so appreciated cohort of this community stepped up, some even before we published an ask at all this month. This has allowed me and the admin team to focus on content, research, and engagement, rather than ever more creative and cajoling ways to entice you to engage financially. I hope we do ever better month over month; that contributing to the health and longevity of this space is something you are ever more eager to do, as opposed to feeling coerced to do, or candidly and more accurately for most of the community, to resentfully ignore.

Now, the challenge.

While it is indeed true that we came close to Basic Budget needs this month, we are not there. That is just true. We need about 475 more to do that; and I am not including the reimbursements to admin staff. That was a promise I made to honor their efforts, and that commitment was fulfilled without regard to funding level.

The Basic Budget–$24k for the year–includes my own support, and as well covers roughly $50/week (which is insultingly low) for admin staff along with general space support. We are already starting our initiatives for working groups, deeper community mentoring, educational resources, and additional admin staff. In order to do so effectively, we need to start moving towards our middle budget goal of $4,000 a month, which is amazingly low when considering the effort and time invested in this space.

That allows us to keep in alignment with our shared values by paying contributors, to pay admin staff more equitably for their significant effort and contributions to the space, gift Sustainers with swag/Lace on Race items, pay for conferences/distribution of resources, and hold a small reserve. We are excited to be able to offer more to the Lace on Race walkers, and the larger community outside of Lace on Race. We hope you will be encouraged by our increased vision, and step up to support us in those endeavors.

A reminder to those who regularly contribute, we have some new resources and gifts for Sustainers. Right now, only eight of you have filled out the Sustainer form, but our regular Sustainer cohort is much larger. We want to make sure we are efficient in reaching out to our community. Please fill out this new form to help us do so, even if you filled out our previous one. We will be using this list for reaching out concerning extra resources, new opportunities, and community groups. https://forms.gle/xRkyGLThzeejSMXd8

As a refresher for all, being a Sustainer means a commitment to monthly contributions, both financial and conversational. We purposefully do not make Lace on Race a pay to access space. However, we have found that as people invest their resources, in time, effort, reliable engagement and money, they grow exponentially. Commitment matters.

Those of you who have already filled out the Sustainer form, keep an eye out for an email invite to our community group. We are doing a soft launch of this space, in hopes it will provide deeper challenges and engagement for those who are ready to take next steps.

Truly, we are thrilled to be in a place that our needs have increased, and, with that increase, our ability to serve and offer you stronger tools.

To those of you who have walked with us with relentless reliability, we thank you. You are why the doors stay open.

To the rest of you, regardless of cohort, we invite you to begin to develop and live this part of your praxis, which should be nonegotiable, and which we hope will one day be reflexive, both within this space and outside of it as well.

Thank you all for walking with us for another month, and for keeping your shoes laced and your oranges healthy for the journey of this coming year.

With love, your Lace