Thanks y'all -- and some GREAT news

Thank you to all of you who have pitched in so far for our Fall Fundraiser. In just a couple days, readers and friends have contributed nearly $2,000 to the Institute Investigative Fund -- most of which will go to our exciting new project to watch-dog rebuilding of the post-hurricane South, Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch (which is getting huge traffic -- y'all have already crashed our server twice!).

If you'd like to support our one-of-a-kind investigative muckraking and sorely-needed Southern progressive voice, you can make a tax-deductible contribution here.

And I have some great news to help sweeten the deal: a very generous friend of the Institute has agreed to match all contributions in the next week, dollar for dollar, up to $7,500.

I'm not a math person, but I know this means your contribution will be doubled.

And if we can reach $7,500 in donations by Thanksgiving, we'll have raised $15,000 to support our growing team of award-winning reporters and tenacious bloggers in search of the truth -- bringing us very close to our $20,000 goal.

So thanks y'all. Your support is making great things possible.

A special tip of the glass to our compatriot bloggers who have helped make the Fall Fundraiser (and the launch of Reconstruction Watch) a big success: my home(-town)girl Pam Spaulding (of Pam's House Blend and Pandagon); Lindsay Beyerstein, aka Majikthise; the one-and-only Mr. Atrios; Matt Singer dialing in from Sirota central; Jordan at Confined Space, and more.

P.S. -- Several of you have contacted me to say you'd rather contribute via Old School mail. We can work with that -- just send your check (payable to ISS) or credit card donation to:

Institute for Southern Studies
Attn: Investigative Fund
P.O. Box 531
Durham, NC 27702

All gifts to ISS are tax-deductible.

P.P.S. -- I have to brag on one of our Reconstruction Watch collaborators -- Stephen Bradberry, a member of the Watch Advisory Board, was just given the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. Go check it out at the Watch blog.