No-Billag supporters and opponents collect via crowdfunding
Both supporters and opponents of the No-Billag initiative are turning to crowdfunding to fill their «war chests.» Both sides are making good progress. However, the organization that has raised the most funds is one that uses conventional methods.
The initiators have just exceeded their goal of 100,000 francs. Within a month, 104,012 francs were collected from 914 donors, as was shown on the website of the initiators on Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, the committee has set a new goal of 160,000 francs.
At the beginning of November, the No Billag initiators had set up their own platform after their campaign on the crowdfunding platform wemakeit was stopped. The operators argued that they considered "the extreme thrust" of the initiative to be "dangerous in terms of state policy" and pulled the plug on the initiators.
Operation Libero has already almost surpassed the initiators' mark. After one day, the organization has collected 153,497 francs - also as of Wednesday afternoon. The target is 284,981.59 francs by the end of December. That is exactly the amount that was needed to successfully fight the enforcement initiative.
The fundraising leader is the association "Nein zum Sendeschluss" (No to the end of broadcasting), which opposes the initiative and does not rely on crowdfunding. According to its own information, it had collected 520,000 francs by December 4. However, experience shows that two million francs are needed for a "powerful" referendum campaign, according to the association's website.
The No Billag initiative calls for the abolition of television and radio license fees. The referendum will be voted on March 4. (SDA)
