November 15, 2019
Dear <first name>,
Dear *,
For years VADP has targeted 2020 as the year when we would
launch a campaign to seek repeal of the death penalty in Virginia.
That time has come. And we need YOUR support now more than
ever to make Virginia the first southern state to abolish
capital punishment.
For the past four years we have patiently built support for
death penalty reform and abolition across party lines - engaging
Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians alike. We now have
enough broad-based support that an abolition bill will be taken
seriously in the Virginia General Assembly.
VADP Field Director Dale Brumfield has been organizing
grassroots support for our work in key legislative districts
located in southside Virginia, Chesterfield County, Tidewater,
and Fairfax & Prince William Counties in northern Virginia.
That hard work made a January 2019 legislative breakthrough
possible. The state Senate voted to pass a bill to exempt
people with severe mental illness from capital punishment. It
was the first time that either chamber of the Virginia General
Assembly had voted to limit the death penalty in any way.
OPTION 1
The results of the recent state election have provided an
extraordinary opportunity for VADP. Thanks to the change in the
party controlling the House of Delegates, the primary obstacle
to death penalty reform and abolition has been sidelined from
leadership of the key Courts of Justice Committee.
There is now a realistic chance of passing legislation in
either 2020 or 2021 to end the death penalty once and for all in
Virginia. The legislature is now far friendlier to our cause
and we have a Governor who has pledged to sign an abolition bill
if it reaches his desk.
OPTION 2
In the coming weeks you will see several op-eds and
articles from media releases and press conferences organized by
VADP. We will feature the voices of murder victim family
members and conservatives calling for abolition of the death
penalty. We will also release striking data on the dates of the
last execution in every Virginia locality showing that most of
the Commonwealth abandoned capital punishment decades ago.
The past year, while successful, was not an easy one for
VADP. Last year we lost funding from our largest single
supporter, blowing a $40,000 hole in our modest $165,000 budget.
Thanks to the tremendous response to our 2018 end of year
appeal letter, supporters like you contributed $10,000 more than
in 2017. That gave us enough of a cash cushion to make it
through this year without any staffing cuts.
Now we need another generous response to THIS appeal in
order to end 2019 with enough funds to get through next year
without cutting our staff of two full-time employees.
It would be tragic if VADP had to reduce its staffing just
as we begin our long-planned push to abolish the death penalty
in Virginia. To be successful, we need to be operating at full
strength in order to continue building support for abolition
across the political spectrum.
Your last contribution to VADP was *, given on *.
Today, I ask you to not only match that, but to increase
your support by 25%, 50%, or even double it.
We need many good people like you to together donate an_
additional $15,000 so we can finish the year with enough money
to make it through 2020 without slashing budget and staff.
To abolish the death penalty in Virginia, we need your
generous tax-deductible gift returned in the envelope provided ..
Please be as generous as you can be and as soon as possible.
(You can also give with your credit or debit card at our secure
web site: www.vadp.org “Donate”. )
With urgent thanks,
Michael E. Stone
Executive Director
P.S. As I explain above, we need all our individual donors to
increase their contributions by an average of 25% by the end of
2018 to help us overcome the loss of a $40,000 grant. Please
return your renewed and increased VADP donation today, using the
enclosed form and convenience envelope provided.
