The reasons why I added a Donate button today.

I added a Donate button to my Home page and Connect with Me page today to ask for support for my e-newsletter, Southwest Weaving News, and I wanted to tell you why.

First of all, I thought long and hard about this. I was hesitant to ask for money from my readers and others. I was afraid I would offend you and sound mercenary but I realized that asking for a voluntary donation isn’t the same as moving from free access to putting up a paywall, which I promise I will never do. Southwest Weaving News will always be FREE to my subscribers with no ads and no paid content.

I put a lot of time and energy into each issue of SWWN, spending between 15 and 25 hours each month on it. This is a labor of love and I will not change it, make it smaller or be less diligent in producing each issue, even if I don’t get a single dollar for it. But, there are realities I have had to consider here–namely, I’m a one-woman show. I don’t have assistants, I abhor and will never use AI and I like to give each newsletter my full attention when I’m working on it. I also have limitations–I’ve alluded to some of them here in the past and they grow every year. So, while 15-25 hours a month may not sound like much, it is a good chunk of time devoted to SWWN which, when added up, amounts to 180 to 240 hours a year.

And, I would like to grow SWWN, writing more original content for it, giving it a more balanced scope. Right now, there is a lot of content about New Mexico, some from Arizona and not much from the rest of the Southwest. I would like to include information from other states around the Southwest–Utah, Colorado, Nevada, California for instance. And, the more content I add, the more time I will need to devote to SWWN away from my studio work and teaching and other writing.

Again, I’m really happy doing this. I think it’s important to have this kind of resource available–a resource I would like to use myself and that’s one reason I started SWWN. So, rest assured it will not change–except for the better. Sharing the fiber arts of the Southwest is very important to me. My philosophy as a teacher and a writer is to share the things I love with others so that these things can flourish. SWWN is one of the ways I do this. And, I want to be able to keep doing it and through donations from my readers I will know in a more concrete way that it has value for others.

Putting a Donate button on my Home and Connect with Me pages felt like the best way for me to do this. It leaves the decision about paying a little something up to you. If you like what I do and want to give a little financially to support what I do, I will be very grateful. If you decide this isn’t something you want to do, I’m fine with that, too. 

I love Southwest Weaving News. I love my readers and hope that you will take my decision as a friendly request and not as a demand–because that’s the way I intend it. Thank you to all of you who read SWWN. And, thank you in advance to those of you who choose to support it by giving a donation. I appreciate you all!