Why You Should Help the Secular Student Movement

I serve as the chair of the Secular Student Alliance, an umbrella organization that creates and supports atheist (and the like) college groups across the country.

This is how fast we’re growing:

In 2007, we had 81 active affiliates.
Today, we have 149.

During the 2007-2008 school year, we set up 22 speaking events on campuses.
This year, we’ve already set up 49.

During the 2007-2008 school year, we gave out $1,978 in direct support to student projects.
This year, we’ve already given out $5,801.

Our 2006 conference was attended by 30 students.
Our 2008 conference (a joint event with the American Humanist Association) was attended by 80 students. This was made possible by more than $11,000 in student travel grants that we have offered over the last two years.

We’ve done all this with only two full-time staff members at the helm — a smaller staff than at many local chapters of Campus Crusade for Christ or Hillel. Imagine how much more we could do if we had greater resources.

There has been no better time to be an active atheist on campus — and no time more important for a group like the Secular Student Alliance to be there for those students.

We want students to feel confident when questioning religious beliefs and thinking critically about their own faith.

We want secular students to realize that they are not alone, and we want their friends and neighbors to realize that someone they know is nonreligious. The only way to do this is to make the secular student movement more visible.

We just moved our headquarters to Columbus, OH and have a fantastic student conference in the work for August!

We need your help so we can keep up this valuable work.

Can you give just $5 to make this happen?

We are a grassroots organization, and our supporters are from all walks of life. We’re dependent on several small donations rather than a handful of large ones.

If enough people pitch in, it would make a huge difference in the types of services we can provide to our affiliates.

If you can give more, we would put it to good use.

You can also give here if you don’t prefer PayPal.

Need an incentive?

If you donate at least $5, you will be entered in a drawing to win your choice of the atheist necklace below (courtesy of Surly-Ramics), a signed copy of I Sold My Soul on eBay (with inscription of your choice), a copy of Kevin Roose‘s The Unlikely Disciple (one of my favorite books from the past year), or t-shirts from Atheist Nexus.

Please spread this today, link to the ChipIn widget on your site, and encourage others to give!

Isn’t it worth the price of a cup of coffee to help other atheists find their voice?