INVEST IN SOMOS EN ESCRITO'S
FUTURE GROWTH
ON GIVING TUESDAY
You can double your donation, too!
November 28th is GivingTuesday worldwide and Somos en escrito is asking you, as a reader and supporter of Latino literature to invest in the magazine’s future growth on that date.
Somos en escrito is teaming up with the HIPGive program run by Hispanics in Philanthropy, which assists startup organizations like Somos en escrito by providing its resources to help raise funds.
Just click on https://hipgive.org/project/
Here’s a plus. The amount you give will be matched from a fund HIPGive has set up with a matching grant. Those funds will be released during four periods on November 28 starting at:
· 11 am EST 10 am CST 8 am PST
· 2 pm EST 1 pm CST 11 am PST
· 6 pm EST 5 pm CST 3 pm PST
· 9 pm EST 8 pm CST 6 pm PST
Please plan to donate on or just after the time at which matching funds will be released. That's an easy way to double your donation.
WHY GIVE TO SOMOS EN ESCRITO?
I’m Armando Rendón, founder and editor of Somos en escrito Magazine. If you walk into a public library, most any library will do, and ask for the Chicano or Latino book section, count how many books there are. Of those, how many are by Mexican or Central and South American writers, or by Spanish writers? Libraries, bookstores, online booksellers, the publishing industry in general mostly don’t know the difference. Go a little farther. Ask for books by U.S. Latino authors that are for Latino children. See if you have any better luck?I launched Somos en escrito magazine in 2009 with that experience in mind. I want to raise awareness about Latino literature in the U.S. and worldwide and encourage more of our people to write. We do have some great Chicano and Latino authors and poets, but do they fill even one library book shelf?
Somos en escrito offers a venue for literary endeavor by our own U.S. Latino talents. We publish emerging and established Latino writers; many of the 500 plus writings we’ve published are by first time authors. So, now my vision is to take the magazine to the next level, to establish it as a national publishing enterprise, privately owned and operated as a non-profit corporation. In fact, we intend to make it the go-to magazine for any U.S. Latino writer who wants to unveil new material.
We’re in a transition phase. Since I launched the magazine eight years ago, it’s been mostly a one-man show. But I believe the Latino community needs our own good literature and Somos en escrito can provide it. But I need help.
Hispanics in Philanthropy, through their program, HIPGive, has made it possible for us to be part of the worldwide GivingTuesday action. I'm grateful for their help.
For this coming year, we need a computer savvy person to move the magazine to a more robust platform that will enable us to feature literary works in a more appealing fashion. That means we also need an illustrator who can give the magazine a powerful and exciting new look. This will put us into more competitive mode with established Anglo literary outfits. For now those two jobs will be a part-time and on-call. We estimate that the transfer of all the archives to a new platform will take about $2,000.00 and to have an on-call illustrator a cache of another $3,000.00 through 2018.
Somos en escrito can become an inspiring and informative place for our community, serve as a valuable resource for students and teachers, and ensure that U.S. Latino writings are recognized as an integral part of American literature, and not just a few books on a shelf.
I’m asking you to support this cause, to invest in this dream, and help us make it a reality. In advance, I’m expressing my thanks to all of you. Please keep reading Somos en escrito and spread the word about it.