In keeping with our promise to be completely transparent about our performance and finances (unlike any other Muslim organisation!) this is how 5Pillarz did during the last month, writes Roshan Muhammed Salih.
We attracted around 24,000 unique visitors to the site, over 33,000 visits and over 48,000 page views.
To be honest these figures were considerably down from the previous month which was exceptional for us because of the number of readers we attracted due to the Egypt crisis.
Therefore, these stats are disappointing but not at all surprising because of the shortage of staff and money that we are experiencing. Remember, 5Pillarz is a completely voluntary effort and is run by two people only (both who have full-time jobs) who are reliant on the goodwill of contributors and readers.
To reverse this trend we are now in urgent need to recruit another volunteer who can help us write/upload stories to the site. This person should be serious, reliable and committed to our values, have some journalistic ability and be able to spare free time to devote to the cause.
This position would be ideal for someone who wants to break into journalism and is looking to gain more experience. You will be working under experienced professionals who will give you lots of help and guidance.
However, this position could also be filled by a non-journalist who wants to contribute to a good cause and can learn fast. If you are interested please email [email protected] urgently.
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Finances
In terms of finances, we received £225 in donations this past month which was spent on advertising the website and carrying out essential technical maintenanace.
We are extremely grateful for this money but it does fall well below our £500 monthly target and means that we were unable to spend any money whatsoever on journalism and transferring the website onto a faster server.
And this is not a sustainable situation if we are going to deliver great content on a site which loads quickly.
So as usual our immediate priorties are to transfer the site onto a faster server so that it can handle the amount of visitors it is getting, and to have some money spare in the bank to spend on journalism.
Therefore, we are now looking to you, our readers, to help keep this site alive, independent and on a sustainable footing by setting up a direct debit with us of only £5 or £10 a month.
If we could get 50 readers to donate £10 a month that would ease our financial worries, or alternatively 100 readers to donate £5 a month. This is probably less than many of us spend on eating a meal.
Therefore, if you value what we are trying to do on 5Pillarz (ie give the Muslim community an independent, professional, honest, unbiased online platform to air its views) please donate URGENTLY via the following link by PayPal, direct debit, credit or debit card. Thank you!
“The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing”. (TMQ 2:261)
