By Beth Anderson, Minnesota NOW Fundraising Chair

Hello??

You have no doubt heard about our Technology Fundraising Drive, or as I like to call it the “Two-Dixie-Cups-and-a-String Initiative.”

What?  You heard “Two Risky Pups In A Sling?”  My point exactly.

Our technology at the Minnesota NOW office is so old Aunt Bea could operate it.  Our kindly donated ancient computers have crashed, and our state-of-the-century printer has lost all of her movable typeset Rs, and our publishing software relies on a T-square and pencil.  So this year’s annual appeal has been focused like a laser beam on TECHNOLOGY.

Where is this browser’s “back” button, Sally?

Blue tooth? iPads? Droids? Sounds like my medicine cabinet!  And don’t get me started on these little devices we carry to keep in constant contact with our 20,000 closest friends.  I’ve actually been known to talk to the person across the table from me at dinner, but I’m old fashioned.

None-the-less, even I am willing to make some changes if it makes us more effective and efficient in bringing equality to Minnesota.  I want to be able to organize with a click of a button and this means new computers with adequate memory.

I want to receive up-to-the-second feminist analysis on the events of the day.  This means new software to communicate with our members.

I want to reach out to young activists, this means meeting them on their turf: on Facebook and in the Blogosphere.

(I picked those words up from my niece, a young activist who knows.)

I want to improve the position of Minnesota NOW so we aren’t relying on staff and volunteers to provide their own computer equipment.   I want our volunteers to spend more time fighting for equality and less time fighting the software.

This didn’t happen to Susan B. Anthony…

So I have put my money where my mouth is.  I clicked a button for Minnesota NOW.

Will you join me?  Point your browser to www.mnnow.org and click on the purple button labeled 2012 Appeal / Resources For Equality.  Punch in your numbers and please give generously.

Because when it comes to activism, Two Pups In A Sling is so 48K.