Usually by this time of year, NIRS members and supporters would have received an update on our year’s activities and a plea for donations and membership renewals.

We didn’t do that this year, for several reasons. First, the mail situation in Washington has been a little dicey the past couple of months, and we didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a mailing you might never receive. Second, we didn’t really want to spend thousands of dollars on a mailing at all….Most importantly, as you are well aware, the reality in the United States has changed dramatically since September and we, frankly, were not confident that a mailing at this time would be worth the resources and effort it takes for us to produce one.

Many, many people, including many NIRS members, have financially helped the victims of the September attacks, and we applaud their, and your unprecedented generosity.

Now, however, we are asking you to support NIRS again. Like many non-profit organizations, our revenue has been jeopardized by the attention and money pouring into victim relief funds. Moreover, in early September, NIRS’ largest foundation funder, the W.Alton Jones Foundation, unexpectedly dissolved, just as it was about to consider the largest foundation grant in NIRS’ history. Combine those two events with the drastically-increased demand upon our services and expertise due to the growing concern about nuclear security, safety and terrorism, as well as the continued reality of the Bush-Cheney efforts to promote and encourage a nuclear power revival, and NIRS has been stretched much too thin in recent months.

Please take a moment to contribute to NIRS as generously as you can at this time. We need and appreciate your help and confidence in our efforts.

As always, your contributions are tax-deductible. Please send to NIRS, 1424 16^th Street NW, #404, Washington, DC 20036. If you’d prefer to contribute with a credit card, just call us at 202-328-0002 or donate online at www.nirs.org. Thank you.