On 1/5/2010 the Secular Student Alliance Board of Directors voted to make the following change to Article 3, Section 6, Part (a) of our Bylaws. 

There have been two requirements for being elected to the SSA Board of Directors:

1) Being one of the candidates who gets the most votes.  The candidates with the most votes will fill the open slots on the Board of Directors.

2)  Getting at least a majority of the votes cast.

The Bylaws have been changed so that the second requirement is met with only one third of the votes cast.

Humanism and Secularism will receive some great national media attention this week as Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, by Harvard Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein, will be the subject of this Wednesday 12/23's episode of NPR's "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross, and of a segment on Sunday 12/27's ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.

Epstein chairs the Advisory Board of the Secular Student Alliance and has worked closely with students at several SSA chapters beyond Harvard—including Yale, Tufts, Boston University, and Brandeis. The book describes the work of the SSA in its appendix; and Greg mentioned the Secular Student Alliance in both of these big interviews, though of course we don’t know what the shows will choose to include.

Good Without God has drawn strong praise from both secular commentators as an introduction to Humanism, yet it has also managed to win a very positive response from influential religious leaders who are increasingly realizing they can work with and even learn from the nonreligious. 

October 22, 2009

For Release: IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT

Contact: August Brunsman –(614) 441-9588 – august@secularstudents.org

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Atheists have not been exempted from the recent economic downturn. Fundraising for the Secular Student Alliance has been modest this year, even as their operations have expanded.

Member Todd Steifel wants to see to it that the group is able to continue its mission of organizing, uniting, educating, and serving students and student communities that promote the ideals of scientific and critical inquiry, democracy, secularism, and human-based ethics.

That is why he has agreed to match every dollar donated to the organization through Dec. 21, up to $50,000. “My donation is an investment in the future of democracy, reason and freedom,” Stiefel said.

Mr. Stiefel says that the services the Secular Student Alliance offers “are crucial to serving student communities that will foster the next generation of leaders in the secular movement.” The Secular Student Alliance currently provides support to over 170 secular student groups in ten countries on college and high school campuses.

Inspired by the matching offer, the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science has pledged $5,000 to the Secular Student Alliance. Dr. Richard Dawkins, author of several books including the New York Times Best Seller The God Delusion, said “I salute Todd Stiefel for his matching offer, and am recommending to the Trustees of the Richard Dawkins Foundation that we should contribute. The Student Secular Alliance is the future. Or it had better be, if there is to be any future worth having!”

The group of affiliates that the Secular Student Alliance supports has grown over 250% in the past three years. This growth has necessitated more funds than ever before in order to accommodate the organization’s operations.

“Todd [Stiefel’s] generosity has been a lifesaver for us,” said Executive Director August Brunsman. “We’re in a position to accomplish more good than ever before, and we appreciate his help in doing so.”

All donations, membership dues, and other contributions are eligible to be matched. Tax deductible donations can be made through the organization’s website at www.secularstudents.org.

What level of support for a secular future makes you HAPPY and PROUD? Donate by Dec. 21 and your money will be matched dollar for dollar!

Secular Student Alliance member Todd Stiefel knows that 2009 has been a fantastic growth year for the Secular Student Alliance. Not only has our affiliate count continued to rise dramatically (almost 20 new groups just since our August conference!), but SSA services have facilitated an incredible variety of campus activities and events promoting secular values and visibility for freethinking youth. (For more detail, be sure to read our Activity Summary.)

Recently Todd learned that the 2009 economy has presented difficult fundraising challenges for the Secular Student Alliance, a completely independent organization that relies entirely on the secular community to continue its work. From January 1, 2009 to October 1, 2009 the SSA took in approximately $93,000 -- a full $60,000 less than in the same period for 2008. Our successes are far outpacing our resources -- meaning we need more help than we've ever needed in order to accomplish more good than we've ever been in a position to accomplish.

Todd told us he wants to make 2009 as strong financially for SSA as it has been programmatically. He is offering a $50,000 matching challenge to the rest of the secular community to support the Secular Student Alliance.