Become A Friend Of The Sun

Dear Reader,

One of the great ironies of our human experience is that change is the one thing we can rely on. The ground is always shifting beneath us, despite our best efforts to make it stand still. Change is steadfast in that sense. It is certain—especially for small, independent magazines.

In 1974, after selling the first five issues of The Sun by hand on the streets of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, our founding editor, Sy Safransky, came up with a bold idea to keep the magazine alive: sell subscriptions. He asked readers to become a “Friend of The Sun.”

That first subscription offer wasn’t much of a deal—at least, not financially. There was no discount. In fact, Sy offered a year of The Sun, then priced at 50 cents an issue, for $25—a markup of $19. And that was only if he managed to produce an issue every month, which at the time was far from certain. Nor were donations tax-deductible. Sy could offer only “our profound thanks for helping this still-struggling, independent magazine to survive.”

We don’t know how many readers said yes to that early appeal, but enough cared about the publication to support it. The magazine endured through its difficult first decade, and in the mid-1980s the IRS granted The Sun tax-exempt status as a nonprofit. In 1986 Sy wrote our first official fundraising letter, inviting readers to make a tax-deductible donation.

We’ve written those letters ever since. This is the latest—a reminder that subscription revenue has never covered the full cost of producing the magazine, and that it is only through the generosity of donors that The Sun continues month after month.

But this year one thing is different.

For the first time since 1986, your donation to The Sun will not be tax-deductible. Following a routine audit precipitated by financial losses we experienced during COVID, the IRS decided that what we do here does not differ significantly from the activity of a commercial publication. Yes, we hold workshops and retreats, collaborate with educators, and provide free subscriptions to prisoners, classrooms, and readers facing hardship, but mostly we publish a magazine, which is not a recognized charitable activity. As a result, our federal tax-exempt status has been revoked.

So where does that leave us?

The Sun has always belonged to its readers. It exists because people believe in quiet conversation, in close listening, in honest storytelling. It exists because readers like you decide that this endeavor is worth sustaining.

We remain a nonprofit incorporated in the state of North Carolina. No one owns The Sun. No one can sell it or take a share of its income. After we pay our writers, staff, overhead, and production costs, if we have any money left over, it goes into a reserve fund to protect us from future uncertainties. Our mission has not changed. Our charitable activities continue. What has changed is simply this: Your donations are no longer tax-deductible.

The practical consequences of this for us are significant. We will lose the discounted postal rates we have long relied upon, and we must now pay taxes on any income beyond our operating expenses. Together these two changes will cost us dearly. Ironically, at the very moment we can no longer offer you a deduction, we need your support more than ever.

So this year, when we ask you to become a Friend of The Sun, we do so in the spirit of 1974—with no incentive beyond the magazine itself, and with our profound gratitude. We are still an independent publication devoted to exploring the human heart through words and images. We are still a small organization based in a North Carolina college town but reaching readers across the country and around the world with stories of courage, vulnerability, struggle, and grace.

The Sun has always belonged to its readers. It exists because people believe in quiet conversation, in close listening, in honest storytelling. It exists because readers like you decide that this endeavor is worth sustaining.

If you are able, please consider making a donation. Your support is not simply a transaction; it is a vote of confidence in independent publishing, in the power of art to connect us, and in the quiet work of keeping something soulful alive in a noisy world.

However the ground may shift, our commitment remains steady. We will continue to show up each month. And we are deeply thankful to walk this path with you.

With gratitude,

Rob Bowers
Editor and Publisher