Every day, on average, over 2,500 people now take our World's Smallest Political Quiz online.

Two thousand, five hundred-plus people. Every day.

Why? Many are intensely interested in political ideas and in the ideas of liberty. They're worried about the threats to liberty they hear about every day. They want to better understand libertarianism.

About 35% of them score Libertarian on our Quiz. Yes, 35% - almost 1,000 per day.

And let me tell you: they are excited!

• Excited to learn about a vibrant, thriving movement for liberty.
• Excited to learn that they're not alone.
• Excited to learn that, as so many say, "…there's a name for what I've always believed!"
• Excited because, at last, they have found a political home - and they've found hope that the glorious vision of liberty-for-all at the heart of the American dream can indeed be fulfilled.

I know this. Because I hear from them every day.

This is very important. Let me tell you why. Many libertarians have put years and years into the struggle to build a mass movement for liberty. Perhaps you're one of them. You've invested time, money and a lot more in this cause.

But many of these same libertarians - the great people who have brought today's libertarian movement into being - are discouraged by what they perceive as the glacial pace of the growth of acceptance of libertarian ideas. Disheartened by recent events.

Well, I am here to bring you good news. The thousands of people who visit our site every week to learn more about liberty are not jaded. They are not discouraged. No, they are excited. They've found hope. They've found a cause they can believe in - and dedicate their lives to.

Just like you and me, they've found exciting ideas that can change the world. And they are eager to tell their friends, their neighbors, the whole world about these ideas.

If you have contributed to the Advocates in the past, congratulations! You personally have made it possible for these thousands to discover the ideas of liberty in such an effective and powerful way.

As I have promised you over the years, when you contribute to the Advocates, you are truly changing lives and changing the world for liberty.

I think these numbers - and the equally-exciting numbers I'm about to share with you - prove that.

Please read on. Because I want to tell you MORE about what happens to newcomers at our Web site. (You'll love it!)

And still more: I want to tell you how we're reaching MILLIONS of Americans every year - in ever-larger numbers - online, off-line, face-to-face and in newspapers and other traditional media.

Finally, I want to tell you some GREAT NEWS about our plans for the next few months - plans to enormously increase the impact of the entire libertarian movement.

Two Million Online Quiz Takers: What This Means for Liberty

Over two million people have now taken the Word's Smallest Political Quiz online! And that number is growing - again, currently at a rate of over 2,500 every day.

Think about what that means. Over two million people exposed to libertarian ideas in a positive, eye-opening way. Over two million people exposed to a new political map that includes libertarians.

That's great! And it gets better.

What happens to the 35% who score Libertarian on the Quiz?

They have just taken a first step in a carefully-planned program to build an army of persuasive, knowledgeable libertarian activists.

A Strategy for Liberty that Is WORKING

Let me explain.

The Advocates has many wonderful programs for liberty. And any one of these programs would be worthy by itself.

But our key programs are designed to work together, synergistically, to have a cumulative impact far more powerful than they could possibly have alone - as parts of a carefully-designed Advocates strategy to change the world for liberty.

It's a three-step strategy. Here it is, in a nutshell:

• STEP 1: We discover libertarian-leaning folks - online, off-line, face-to-face - directly ourselves and by the efforts of grassroots activists using Advocates tools and techniques.
• STEP 2: We provide these new prospects with the information they need to fully understand and embrace the ideas of liberty.
• STEP 3: We then provide these new libertarians with the training, tools, information and encouragement they need to become powerful and effective advocates of the ideas of liberty - so they can become active in the libertarian movement and, in turn, find new libertarian-leaning folks to bring to Step 1… thus keeping the process going, with ever-larger numbers.

And every time the cycle turns, the numbers increase… exponentially.

How Our Strategy Produces Legions of New Libertarians

Want to see exactly how this works? Let's return to our two-million-plus online Quiz takers.

When Quiz takers score Libertarian, they are excited and intrigued. They want to learn more.

We give them more.

They are immediately invited to subscribe to our free Liberator Online newsletter (more on that in just a moment), and visit our new Libertarianism.com Web site to learn more about libertarian ideas and the libertarian movement.

In this way, their questions are answered - quickly, accurately, professionally. They learn more about libertarianism and the organizations working to move America towards liberty. Soon, many become full-fledged libertarian activists and supporters of libertarian organizations. (Step 2.)

They naturally want to spread these ideas as quickly and efficiently as possible - so they begin to use our proven, tested and highly effective Advocates communication tools and techniques to become ever more successful communicators. (Step 3.)

And soon, they are sending more people to take the Quiz or use other Advocates resources to learn about liberty… which brings us back to Step 1!

This strategy - especially its focus on promoting effective grassroots libertarian communication and outreach - makes the Advocates for Self-Government unique in the libertarian movement.

Is the strategy working? Let me share some numbers with you and see what you think.

The World's Largest Libertarian Publication

As I mentioned to you, everyone who scores Libertarian on the Quiz is offered a free subscription to our email newsletter, The Liberator Online.

I'm proud to report to you that The Liberator Online is the largest-circulation libertarian publication in the world, online or offline. Indeed, we just passed the 60,000-subscriber mark.

We have subscribers all across America, at hundreds of colleges and universities, and in over 100 countries around the globe - even in some of the world's most oppressive regimes.

In every issue, Liberator Online readers learn about libertarian ideas, the libertarian movement, current events from a libertarian perspective, and - our specialty - the very best ways to communicate the ideas of liberty.

This is no ordinary newsletter. Readers tell us The Liberator Online changes their lives. For many, it's their first encounter with the ideas of liberty. For many more, it's their first glimpse of how to successfully communicate these wonderful ideas to their friends, family, and neighbors.

And of course we encourage our readers - and all other libertarians - to take advantage of our other tested, proven, effective outreach tools and programs. Like:

• OUR WEB SITE: It's home to a treasure-trove of unique resources for students, activists, journalists, educators and the general public. Our site has won numerous awards and is regularly acclaimed by top reviewers as one of the very best political sites on the Web. Literally millions of people have encountered the ideas of liberty at TheAdvocates.org.

Perhaps you yourself have seen - and used - some of the great features we make available here. Like our "Ask Dr. Ruwart" searchable database; the renowned "Libertarian Celebrities and VIPs" page that harnesses "star power" to boost the prestige of libertarian ideas; libertarian talk radio links; links to the finest organizations in the liberty movement; hundreds of articles; an online catalog of essential liberty products… and so much more.

In fact, since I last wrote you, we've totally revamped the site, making it even more useful and user-friendly, with a great new look and lots of new material. And more to come!

• LIGHTS OF LIBERTY AWARDS: This widely-praised Advocates program recognizes and rewards grassroots libertarian activists - and encourages far more such outreach. Each year our Lights of Liberty winners take the ideas of liberty to MILLIONS of people in the most effective ways possible: writing, speaking, and face-to-face! I hope you agree with me that this kind of essential outreach should be rewarded and encouraged. We've given 1,259 of these awards so far - and our recipients treasure them.
  
• " LIBERTARIANISM.COM: Brand-new! This acclaimed new Advocates site fills a crucial need: it provides a quick and easy way for anyone to quickly grasp the basics of libertarian thought and to learn about the liberty movement.

The site is inviting and super-friendly. We've assembled great resources: concise definitions and explanations of libertarianism; short and convincing answers to common (and not-so-common) questions; libertarian positions on specific issues; whole books on libertarianism, free online; links to major organizations; and much more. All created by some of the best minds in the liberty movement. It's a great first-stop source for basic info on libertarianism.

• OPERATION POLITICALLY HOMELESS (OPH): This incredible tool transforms an ordinary outreach booth into a crowd-drawing event! OPH makes it easy for just a couple of libertarians to discover new libertarians and libertarian-leaning folk wherever people are gathered. THOUSANDS of people meet libertarians face-to-face at OPH booths every year - and learn the good news of liberty. This is a great Step 1 encounter for newcomers - and a great Step 3 activity for activists eager to take libertarian ideas to the public.
  
• QUIZ CARDS: We've distributed way over 6 million card versions of the World's Smallest Political Quiz. Yes, over six million! This incredible eye-opener and mind-changer is quite simply the single most popular outreach tool in the libertarian movement. Like the online Quiz, the Quiz card puts people in Step 1 of our liberty-movement-building strategy.

And of course, MILLIONS MORE people have seen the Quiz in newspapers (including the Washington Post, the Miami Herald, the Atlanta Constitution, to name just a few), books, magazines, classrooms, on T-shirts, and elsewhere.

• SEMINARS, SPEECHES, AND TRAINING: Advocates workshops are famous among libertarians as great ways to learn how to best communicate the ideas of liberty. (And wait until you hear what we've got planned for 2004! More on that in just a moment.)
  
  

"Sowing the Seeds…"

Is our strategy working? Are our tools and programs successful?

I believe the numbers in this letter tell the answer: yes!

I hope I've convinced you that the Advocates is doing unique, vital work that NO OTHER ORGANIZATION is doing - work that benefits the entire liberty movement.

As David Nolan, Libertarian Party Founder and co-creator of the Quiz, says:

"The Advocates… is tilling the soil, sowing the seeds that other organizations in the libertarian movement are reaping the benefits from."

Be Part of an Incredible 2004!

I'm proud of everything you've just read. I hope you are, too.

But it is enough? Are you satisfied that everything that can be done for liberty is being done?

Of course not! Neither are we.

Yes, we're making great things happen. Yes, we have a proven strategy for liberty.

But we've just scratched the surface of what's possible.

We've worked hard this year to build and improve the resources I've just described. And we've done so despite the challenges of a severe economic downturn that has hit non-profit organizations - including the Advocates - hard.

We've built on our strengths - and we have a real momentum going.

Now it's URGENT that we keep moving forward, and keep building. Because…

The presidential campaign year is almost upon us - the time in which Americans are more interested in political ideas than any other.

How Many Americans Can We Win to Liberty in 2004?

To take maximum advantage of this presidential year - to keep our momentum going - to make our efforts for liberty far more effective - we need to build on our successes.

We're already hard at work on that.

Let me share with you a few of the exciting plans we have underway right now.

THE QUIZ AND OPH:

• We're almost finished with a major revamping of our World's Smallest Political Quiz - to make this classic tool even greater and more effective. Look for an unveiling of this new, better-than-ever Quiz in early 2004.
• We're also revamping OPH to make it even more effective than it is now.
• We've just made the Quiz available for Palm Powered™ handheld computers - it's free at our Web site. What fun it is to "beam" the Quiz to others! And I expect many thousands of people will share the Quiz with others this way in just the next few months.
• We also want to launch a major publicity push for the Quiz, timed to coincide with the public's increased interest in politics during the presidential year.

If you're a fan of the World's Smallest Political Quiz - again, the most popular outreach tool in the libertarian movement - believe me, you will LOVE our plans for the coming months!

COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH WORKSHOPS:

• In 2004 we will be presenting nothing less than the most exciting and extensive set of communication and outreach workshops in Advocates history. The Advocates will be conducting a dozen or more dynamic, inspiring and results-producing workshops in key cities across America. Just in time for the campaign season!

More libertarians than ever before will have the chance to learn the very best ways to become powerful, successful communicators. Libertarian communication master Michael Cloud will be leading most of these workshops, joined by other communication superstars. Our goal: graduate as many as 1,000 libertarians with super-charged communication skills!

NEW BOOKS AND AUDIOTAPES:

• We'll be publishing several Advocates-exclusive books and audio books on powerful libertarian communication and outreach. I can't yet tell you about all of them. BUT… there's information on one very exciting new Advocates-exclusive book - and how you can get one of the very first copies - just below.

MEET OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS:

To accomplish our goals for 2004 - and beyond - we must continue to build an ever-stronger organization. We're proud to welcome three distinguished libertarian leaders to our Board of Directors. In alphabetical order:

• Dr. Ken Bisson is Libertarian Party Vice Chair and a longtime Advocates friend and supporter. Ken was a founding member of the Advocates, and was an early Advocates Chairman. Ken has been a candidate for U.S. House, and has two decades of highly-regarded activism at all levels in the libertarian movement.
  
• Dan Fylstra has been involved in the PC industry since its inception. He was founding Associate Editor of BYTE Magazine in 1975, and founder of VisiCorp, the marketer of the first successful computer spreadsheet. He is president of PC software vendor Frontline Systems, Inc. Dan has been an outspoken champion of liberty in the computer industry. He is a past Libertarian Party Vice Chair and has served on that party's National Committee
  
• Dr. Jim Lark is past Libertarian Party National Chair, and has contributed in many other ways to the LP. He has been a friend and supporter of the Advocates since our earliest days. A respected educator, Jim has served as visiting scholar at the Center for the Study of Public Choice (Virginia Tech) and Earhart Foundation Visiting Fellow at the Center for Research in Government Policy and Business (University of Rochester). Jim speaks around the country on libertarian issues and is involved in many other ways in the liberty movement.

I believe it speaks highly of the Advocates that we can attract individuals of this caliber to our Board of Directors. They bring great strength and vision to the Advocates.

As you can see, the Advocates has big plans for the coming year. To win hearts and minds to the libertarian cause. To equip thousands of libertarians with the tools and training they need to win the public to libertarianism. To turn libertarian activists into libertarian persuaders who will bring many others to the liberty movement.

To reach millions of Americans directly with the ideas of liberty: online, offline, face-to-face.

YOU Are the Key

We've accomplished a lot - with very little resources. As with every nonprofit and libertarian organization I'm aware of, revenues have been down this year, and quite frankly, it's been tough.

To keep our momentum going, to hit the ground running in the new year, to achieve our plans for 2004, we must dramatically increase our level of funding.

To do this we need YOU.

Can I depend on you to help make this happen?

I'm asking you to dig a little deeper than usual to help us help the ideas of liberty break through these tough times and move forward. If you've never given to the Advocates before, please do so now. It's something you can be proud of and get a lot of satisfaction from.

If you've given before but not lately, please come back - we miss you! And your contribution is more valuable now than ever.

If you're a regular contributor to the Advocates, congratulations! You've helped make all the exciting news in this letter possible. THANK YOU! And I'm hoping now that you've seen how effectively we're putting your donations to work, you will want to continue your support - and increase it as much as possible.

We have SO MUCH lined up for the new year. I'm convinced that if we can put our 2004 plans into action the pay-off for the liberty movement will be tremendous. But we can't do it without YOU.

We run a tight ship on a small budget. EVERY donation makes a real difference to us and is greatly appreciated. Believe me, YOU are important to us and YOU make a REAL DIFFERENCE.

We urgently need your help right now. We have a proven track record of success, as this letter shows. Please join with other libertarians in becoming an Advocates donor. Together we can do great things this year. I want you onboard to share in this excitement!

Our "Thank-You Gifts for You

The greatest gift we can give to you is this: a promise to continue and expand the great work the Advocates is doing. To fulfill the vision outlined in this letter - and more.

The second-greatest gift we can promise you is: the satisfaction of knowing YOU are personally playing a role in this wonderful work.

The third gift we can give is less important, but still very nice: some great Advocates products!

1) For your gift of $100 or more - or your agreement to become a monthly donor at a $10 per month or higher level - we have reserved three GREAT premiums.

Harry Browne's 500 Soundbites for Liberty: a brand-new book and an Advocates exclusive! One of the finest-ever libertarian communicators now shares with you hundreds of mind-opening soundbites on every major issue. Harry personally created them during his presidential campaigns -- and used them to convince listeners to embrace libertarian ideas. With these at your fingertips you'll be an instantly-memorable speaker to family, friends or any other audience. Simply a MUST! We will publish this book in early 2004, and you will get one of the very first copies hot off the press - complete with an autographed bookplate from Harry. (See enclosed flier for details.)

PLUS, you'll also get both of the two gifts described below!

2) For your gift of $55 or more, we will send you an audio tape of my speech "The Invisible Hand Is a Gentle Hand." What would a truly libertarian society be like? Would it be dog-eat-dog capitalism, Darwinian survival-of-the-fittest - or something very different? I explore a too-often overlooked aspect of libertarianism: the inherent compassion of the freedom philosophy. This speech has been extremely well-received wherever I've given it. I'd be honored to send it to you.

Plus, you'll also get the great book described below!

3) For your gift of $35 or more, we will send you the wonderful book Miss Liberty's Guide to Film and Video: Movies for the Libertarian Millennium by Jon Osborne. If you love movies and liberty, this book is for you. The only guide to libertarian-themed films - over 250 movies reviewed and rated. Hours of movie pleasure. Don't go to the video store without it! A $17 value, FREE!

Finally, all donations of any size are greatly appreciated. Every dollar will go to work for liberty.

Thank you for reading this. Thank you for being one of the very important people who care enough about liberty to want to do something about it - to share its blessings and benefits with everyone.

                                                                                                      For Liberty,
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                      Sharon Harris, President
                                                                                                      Advocates for Self-Government

PS: Your contribution is tax-deductible - the Advocates is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization.

PPS: Please look over the numbers in this letter again. Almost one thousand online libertarian Quiz scorers - every day! Hundreds of thousands of people introduced to the ideas of liberty in the most effective, persuasive ways possible. Proven programs, projects and tools - and a strategy to build a mass movement for liberty. Please help us continue and expand this great work. Thank you.