If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that RSA members do want Australian society to change: to elevate rationality over emotionality, to challenge entrenched religious privilege, to recover respect for science and the scientific method over mere opinion and corridor conversations.

A couple of years ago, the RSA board agreed to invest our reserve funds in a professional campaigns and communications capability. That was a strategic decision, and we think it’s really paid off.

We’ve had some significant campaign successes, we’ve built a collaborative network of similar minded people and organisations, and we’ve made our presence felt in state and federal parliaments across the country. Check out our latest campaign news here.

And it’s not just campaigns. We’ve also ramped up our communications, with the four volumes of Neil Francis’s landmark Religiosity in Australia series already published and a fifth in the pipeline.

But we can’t continue to cover this level of expenditure without the income to match it. That’s where support from you, our wonderful members and supporters, comes in.

It’s that time of year, and no doubt you will be approached by other organisations for end-of-financial-year donations.

But I’d like to ask you directly – will you please help us continue our advocacy work?

With your support, we hope to expand our campaigning activity and continue providing platforms such as our Rationale magazine, the RSA Daily bulletin, the Secular Agenda podcast and our RSA Webinars.

The RSA is a charity under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), meaning we don’t pay income tax on our investment returns. But we don’t (yet!) have DGR (deductible gift recipient) status – meaning your donation is, unfortunately, not tax deductible to you.

But it would mean a lot to us. And we can promise that every dollar donated goes directly to our campaigns work or our communications platforms. As a volunteer-led organisation, there are no administrative overhead costs!

Please consider making a one-off or, even better, a recurring monthly donation today. 

Another way to support us is by becoming a paid-up member. If you haven’t yet formally joined, please do so now!

RSA members get full access to articles on Rationale, discounts to events, invitations to our AGMs and the right to vote for the RSA board.

The most valuable and long-lasting way to help, of course, is to make a bequest.

Bequests have been the lifeblood of the RSA over its more than 100 years of existence. They don’t happen very often, but, when they do, they provide a whole new lease of life. So please consider.

Find the words to include in your will at the bottom of this page.

I can’t tell you what a pleasure and a privilege it has been to oversee the growth of this venerable institution over the past 12 years. I do hope you will join with me in contributing to its continuation.