UPDATE 9 March - Saying thank you
We have reached our £15,000 target!
In order to thank those who have already given to the campaign, we have ordered hundreds of bumper stickers which we will send out to a random selection of previous donors. (This is possible thanks to a generous personal donation specifically for this purpose.)
We’ll also send out a bumper sticker or two to every new donation given over the next week while stocks last, UK residents only. Please make sure you include your address when donating, leave a comment, and you will receive a ‘thank you’ bumper sticker or two in the post as soon as possible.
(Even though you may be getting a free sticker, HM Revenues and Customs say we can still claim GiftAid if you're a UK taxpayer, 'cos it's just a sticker. So you can still add GiftAid and tick "I’m not getting a ticket, product or service in return for my donation". If it's cool with HMRC it's cool with us.)
We have upped our target to £20,000. We have new advertising opportunities and all money raised will go towards advertising for the campaign. We don’t have long to go now, so please give generously and we will spread the word!
UPDATE 21 February
Thank you for the fantastic response so far! We've reached our first target of £12,000 and we're spending it as best we can on physical advertising spaces which will reach lots of people.
We're now extending the campaign to reach even more people online. We've chosen Facebook, Google and Mumsnet allowing us to reach targeted audiences in the best way possible. Please give generously, and let's see how far we can spread our message online.
[October 2010]
The census question on religion cuts the number of non-religious people in half. This happened in 2001 and it stands to happen again in 2011.
The Census Campaign wants non-religious people to tick "No religion" in the 2011 Census.
We want people to know why the question on religion is flawed and why so many non-religious people didn't tick "None" in the 2001 Census.
We want people to know that real decisions on resource allocation and policy are based on Census data and if it's wrong then we all stand to lose out.
We've been trying to get the census question on religion changed for several years. In our meetings the ONS accepted that the question was flawed. Referring to our briefings, parliamentarians asked tough questions and the National Statistician accepted that "really" the question on religious should be changed. But ultimately the ONS stuck to the 2001 question.
Talks have failed. Now we must go public.
We need to raise awareness and we need to do it quickly. We are asking like-minded people to support the advertising for the Census Campaign on public transport and in public places.
This is about your representation. We've been campaigning on the census for years and it's only one of dozens of issues that our Public Affairs team is working on. 66% of money raised here will be spent on the public advertising campaign, raising awareness about the census. The remainder will fund the ongoing work of our public affairs team, both on the census and a range of similar issues. The British Humanist Association is a charity and relies on membership subscriptions and donations to fulfill its vital role promoting humanist values and defending the principles of secularism.
The initial target above will be used to buy some billboard space in towns and cities in the UK. Feel free to tell us in the comments why you support the Census Campaign or where you'd like us to advertise.
