I'm writing today to share some news with you about The Bilerico Project and to ask for your help as we continue to grow the site and to develop our online community. You may have noticed a new donate button in our right hand column. While advertising does help to defray some of our costs, it doesn't cover all of the site's expenses - not to mention the time for the Bilerico Project team.

I'm very proud of what we accomplish on the Bilerico Project. Together - our posters and readers - create a dialogue between segments of our community that don't usually interact. Community organizations check in with us through guest posts, and our comments provide a space for vibrant dialogue. The Bilerico Project attracts some of the nation's most important political leaders; even Congress members who disagree with us find it necessary to defend themselves on the Bilerico Project.

While we've grown into one of the top LGBT blogs on the web since re-launching last July, continuing our phenomenal growth has become several full-time jobs. Our usual week includes advertising, promotions, contests, tech upgrades, public relations, mentoring, moderating and the continual typo, spelling and grammar editing for 50 contributors with a heavy dose of writing our own blog posts thrown in for kicks. Our hard work is worth it - we just cracked the Technorati Top 10,000 blogs (out of 112.8 million!).

With your help, we'll continue to grow. Plans are underway to add podcasts and video blogging and to expand our technical capabilities. Most importantly, with your support we'll be able to keep providing the exciting site you've come to expect. To help our work, please consider supporting TBP by clicking on the donate button or here. For those who contribute $100 or more, we're happy to give you a free week's blogad for the LGBT organization of your choice. Smaller amounts will, of course, be gratefully accepted.

On behalf of all of us who make the Bilerico Project possible - Jerame, Alex, myself and the rest of the Ed Team - thanks for your help!