secularsites Ad.Fund

Ad.fund is a non-profit-making fund  administered through  secularsites - a directory of  independent  web-sites of the UK secular humanist movement.

Its purpose is to promote atheism, secularism and secular humanism on the Internet and in print.     We sponsor, sell or give away promotional material to donors.

All money donated to secularsites over and above the direct cost, post and packaging is spent on publishing and advertising Atheist Perspectives on many issues on the Internet and in Print. There are no other administrative costs.

1) Audio CDs  (£5 each inc p&p)

• Dan Barker's 'Friendly Neighborhood Atheist' songs (to promote the Freedom From Religion Foundation) with his brilliant words and music, mostly  jazz, ragtime, blues & ballad style. - For  words and  clips - click here

• Discussion audio - 'The Role of Religion in Education' (20mins)

• Discussion audio- 'Secular Humanism in the Peace Movement' (16mins)

2) Atheist Perspectives publications at the reduced price of £2 each inc p&p.

'The Role of Religion in Education'

'Illicit Sex and the God Machine'

'A Theory of Belief'

'A Challenge to Religion on Health'

 

3) When available we give away  DVD or CD copies of atheist material (details on request)

 

Cheques should be made payable to  'secularsites'  and sent to Secularsites, PO Box 172, Westerham, TN16 9AN

(If you want to make a donation but do not want a CD or DVD  please say so.

www.secularsites.freeuk.com

e-mail secularsites@freeuk.com

 

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Advertising? Why the need ?

For too long now the secular humanist movement has relied on the willingness of  people in the media giving the occasional mention to our organisations or campaigns, they are very few and very far between. Atheist, secularist and secular humanist views are still considered by many as 'impolite' or 'not respectable'.  Throughout history, criticism and opposition to religion has been cruelly punished and systematically suppressed. Our views have been censored and/or distorted  and we still do not get anything like fair representation  in most of our media. 

Unlike the churches we do not have the public subsidies or the  traditional advantages and privileges they enjoy.  Dozens of churches in every locality, each with their paid activists, advertising display sites, and traditional sources of publicity and  the indoctrination of children in state schools and  faith schools  allow the religions to promote their superstitious beliefs, prejudices and divisive activities, daily. At every level of life, from the personal reliance on supernatural belief;  the still dominant  influence on the community in many areas; the political activity and privilege in public life, national and local;  their influence in international affairs, religion still plays a pernicious  role in fomenting conflict, division and exclusion.

Things are changing

Now with the Internet can we now express our views in our own way, without being misrepresented and demeaned, but with so much competition we need to link publicity with the old world of print.  If we are to bring our views and creative work, to the attention of those who have never heard of secular humanism - and how absurd is that in a country in which there is compulsory education from 5 to 16 years? - we have to go out to them, not just wait for them to come to us.

What we are trying to do

I have been trying  to persuade the organisatons to advertise, for many years now, and have given up and started Ad-Fund.  With donations from individuals, and one of the groups for whom I host a web-site, and the goodwill of The Big Issue, we managed to keep an advert for secularsites going for six months.

As  individuals we cannot afford to do this ourselves but cannot believe that we cannot at least help in the promotion of atheism and secular-humanism if as a group, and if our organisations were to help by linking our site, were to work together and pool our resources.

When we can we advertise  in  The Big Issue because it is what we can afford, but also because we think that it has a readership in which one would expect to find people interested in progressive and environmental issues and compassion towards people needing rational help - people interested in constructive action on deprivation and disadvantage not just charity.  

We chose to do it by advertising 'secularsites' because it lists and links all the organisations and journals in the UK as well as a whole lot of other material - Serious discussion on a whole range of topics from well known and new writers and activists, listing of local humanist group web-sites,  and best of all lots of FUN - wit, humour, verse, cartoons, jokes and songs. 

It is high time that the efforts of all those who are working voluntarily promoting the movement were recognised and promoted as part of a vital, innovative and creative movement.

* We would welcome ideas, suggestions, information on suitable journals, professional, political or other so that we can look at readership numbers and costs.

Hard work? Yes if it left to a few individuals!

Harking back to the  time that the Humanist organisation was growing significantly  in the 1960s and 1979s, it  was the time when it advertised regularly in one of the journals that were at that time progressive (New Society or New Humanist I can't remember which). I have heard it said by influential humanists that advertising does not work, but I do not believe that this  movement has secret knowledge that the rest of the world does not share on the ineffectiveness of advertising. But it does have to be proportionate to our resources, regular, so that people learn to know where they have seen us advertise, and carefully targeted.  And we are always on the look-out for ways of using our pitifully small resources to the best advantage.

Please tell us if you know of any such sites.