You may have noticed that we have an ongoing webathon to support our efforts to fight for enduring American principles. As Rich put it when he kicked things off, “Our promise is that we will always be true to what makes this country great, true to the Constitution, and true to the ordered liberty that makes for virtuous citizens and a dynamic society.”

I am happy to report that, thanks to an amazing response from 363 generous souls, we have now reached $51,080 in donations to National Review, for which we are extremely grateful. This already puts us more than halfway toward our goal of $100,000. Amazing!

Reading through all of the pieces that have been written to date during our webathon, one line from Charlie’s jumped out at me: “We are a magazine (and website) of conservative opinion, yes, but there can be no useful conservatism without truth and there can be no persuasive opinion without a decent respect for the facts.”

As a conservative who has spent much of my life in very left-wing parts of the country, I admit it is often extremely isolating. But when I look back at my formative years, there was a silver lining to this. When I was constantly being bombarded by left-wing ideology, to fight back, I had to sharpen my own arguments and voraciously seek out factual information. During free time in high school, I could often be spotted in the library reading National Review. One issue in particular – dedicated to defending the real Reagan record – was especially helpful in my battles with progressive history teachers.

In my capacity as editor, this is something I have tried to remember and instill in all of our young writers. We may be journalists with a principled ideological bias, but we always have to base our opinions on the facts. 

That isn’t always easy. These days, people are desperate to pigeonhole you into one category or another. If you are a conservative who criticizes Donald Trump, you’re a traitor. Yet if you attack Joe Biden or say that one particular criticism of Trump was unfair, you’re suddenly a MAGA sycophant. But here at National Review, we have an obligation to tune all of this out, and write what we honestly think.

Unfortunately, what makes for good journalism doesn’t always make for good business. We’re fortunate to have many loyal subscribers (whom you can join here), but that doesn’t support all of the staffers and infrastructure required to make our enterprise possible. That’s why we have to periodically ask for your help. 

So if you agree that National Review is a vital institution worth preserving, there are two ways to support our mission. One is to give directly to National Review’s magazine and website. These contributions are not tax deductible, but they are incredibly important to our work and, of course, much appreciated.

Another is to join over 100 kind donors who have already given an additional $20,351, by making a tax-deductible gift to National Review Institute (NRI), the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit journalistic think tank created by WFB to support the NR mission. The Institute, by sponsoring writing fellows and hosting events, seminars, and educational programs, focuses on the higher-order intellectual spadework to advance and defend conservative ideas.

Please feel free to choose whichever option is to your liking or — if you are feeling particularly generous and want to have maximum impact — both. 

Thanks again for your support. 

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