[act-ma] Funds to investigate process to form a new radio station

[Charlie Welch]

The following announcement is outside our normal act-ma guidelines but because of
it's exceptional potential impact on the area the act-ma moderators decided to send it out.

It is a plea for funds to apply for a new radio station based at the Peace Abbey in Sgerborn 
just outside Boston.

Charlie Welch
for Act-MA

The deadline to raise the initial $6,000 can be set as follows: We need
commitments for the first $3,000 no later than Friday, August 10th, 2007 by
5:00 pm. - That is to pay for a full engineering study of the local radio
frequencies, to find a location for the new transmitter, and to prepare the
technical details for the FCC application. The second $3,000 needs to be
raised by August 31st at 5:00pm. This is to pay an attorney for legal help
preparing the non-technical and legal aspects of the FCC application.

Any money raised above and beyond the $6,000 will go towards (in no
particular order; all tasks are equally important):

a. 	outreach to other individuals and progressive organizations in the
	form of mailings, phone calls, limited travel, and a website,

b.	hire a part time coordinator, whose tasks include writing a budget and
	business plan and coordinating communications and outreach,

c.	produce fundraisers including a planned event with Progressive
	Magazine Editor Matthew Rothschild in September,
	
All monies collected are held by the Peace Abbey/Life Experience School, a
501 C(3) not for profit organization.

If the first $3,000 (for the engineer) is not raised, the project will stall
and the money raised to that point will be returned. (Ed. Note: we are
asking everyone we can think of for help!) If the second $3,000 is not
raised (for the lawyer) I will loan the Peace Abbey Radio Project enough
money to make up the difference at zero percent interest.

To Suren's suggestion of an appeal: (this is a first draft and can be edited
of course)

	PEACE ABBEY RADIO - Urgent Appeal!

   A group of activists and radio producers are applying to the FCC this
October for a license to start a new, progressive, non-commercial,
educational radio station (tentatively) to cover listeners in southern MA
and northern RI. The studio will be based at the Peace Abbey in Sherborn, MA
with a remote studio in Boston. This will be an independent, non-corporate
station managed as much as possible by consensus decision-making and with as
diverse a staff as possible. Programs also will be distributed over the web,
as pod-casts, on CD, and other channels of transmission, in order to reach
as many people as possible.

	WE NEED TO RAISE $3,000 BY FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2007 TO PAY FOR AN
ENGINEERING STUDY AND FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON THE APPLICATION!!

	WE NEED TO RAISE ANOTHER $3,000 BY AUGUST 31, 2007 TO HIRE A LAWYER
TO HELP WITH LEGAL ISSUES ON THE APPLICATION!!

   All money raised is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
MAKE CHECKS OUT TO: Peace Abbey/Life Experience School and put the words
"Radio Station" on the subject line. Please mail to David Goodman, 65
Cornwall Street, #108, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.

(I'll check to see if the Peace Abbey accepts credit cards - David)

   The Peace Abbey is a non-profit center for education and reflection on
the relationships between peace, politics and religion and a base for
anti-war organizing and activism.

	Members of the Peace Abbey Radio Project working group currently
include Grace Ross, activist, and former candidate for Massachusetts
Governor, David Goodman and John Grebe, Independent Radio Producers, Lewis
Randa, Director of the Peace Abbey, and Fran Froehlich, co-founder of
Community Works and the Poor People's United Fund.

-----

Please contact me with any questions or other suggestions. I hope we can
come to an agreement on this.

Much thanks!

David
617-522-1446 (home)
781-492-5816 (cell)




         Charlie:

         I've got to raise six thousand dollars very quickly or the
         project to
         apply for a new radio station that Grace Ross and I are working
         on won't
         fly. I understand act-ma officially can't put out an appeal, but
         if you
         could tell everyone in your circle of friends (enemies too, I don't
         care!) about our situation that would be very helpful. All
         donations are
         made out to the Peace Abbey and are tax-deductible to the
         fullest extent
         of the law. Have people contact me with any and all questions.

         Paz,

         Dave Goodman

         617-522-1446