Announcing 2025 Water Cooler Fundraiser for Lambert’s Gold Retirement Watch (and Work Done in 2024)

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Water Cooler’s yearly fundraiser: My goal is 🌡️ 400 donors, the same as last year. You can help out by becoming one of them and clicking here, which will take you to the Donate button on this page. If you can give a lot, give a lot. If you can only give a little, give a little; every little bit helps! (You can also pay it forward by donating on behalf of those whose circumstances do not permit them to do so, this year.)

As you may know, Water Cooler fundraisers pay for work I have already done (unlike Yves’ altogether more sensible approach, where she asks you to support work that she will do in the next year). You can judge the quality of my work last year — and, if you like, show your appreciation — by venturing down to the Tip Jar and tossing some coin.

Imagine, if you feel dubious about donating to a writer whose work here you shortly will not see, that you are passing the hat for a very nearly gold watch to give the oldest employee in the firm, who banged in every day and was faithfully at his desk for a very long time, until his hair was quite grey: 2024 – 2011 = 13 years; and who wrote 2,643 Water Coolers (with three to go). And very grateful I am to Yves for giving me both chances! (You may also wish to consider that your donation will be easing my retirement and contributing to my future literary and artistic endeavors, and yes, I do have plans.)

Normally, at this point, my mental fundraising template tells me to make a long list of all the successes of the year, but that sounds like work. Also, I must hustle along and add the orts and scraps to Water Cooler, so I will skip the tub-thumping. I do feel that Water Cooler had a very good year. You’re read this far; you know!

Wrapping up with some kind thoughts from readers, from JC:

I have procrastinated in writing this farewell, as I am so very sad you are leaving NC. I am sad for myself, at the loss of a daily pleasure and personal benefit that I have enjoyed for so many years, and for the community which will become poorer at your absence. I am not sad for you, hoping that you are successful in the literary and other artistic pursuits in your future.

With fondness and deep appreciation, I wish you great fortune.

And JTH:

S. checks in daily to Links and the Water Cooler, and lets me know the really important articles to read. (And, the bird songs, especially the catbirds of late, get played every afternoon. ) Thank you, everyone, for enriching our lives with information, as well as the added beauty with the antidotes of photos and art. )

And PL:

You are the best!

And KA:

Don’t let the bastards get you down ; )

Never!

Finally, a brief remark about blogging. At least according to my theory, all bloggers develop a persona. The persona, “Lambert Strether”, is not the same as the “real” person who writes what Lambert Strether writes. Similar, perhaps, but not the same. My unexpected experience over the last years is that my real person has become more like my persona; calmer, somewhat more forgiving, certainly more capable of caring for/taking care of others. An artist with a stronger aesthetic, too. This, dear readers, I owe to our interactions here. Thank you!

2024’s Water Cooler fundraiser went well, and it would be great if this final water cooler went just as well. Last year, we had 400 donors. I’d like to hit that mark again. Please give what you can.

What Yves wrote back in 2017 is true in 2025:

To be crass, Lambert is making well under a living wage for his work on Water Cooler and that is not right. We need you to live up to what we hope is one of the widely-held values in the commentariat, that people should be paid fairly for their work, especially work that has already been done! That means digging into your wallets, whether a little or for a lot, and chipping in for Water Cooler.

If you can dig deep, please consider doing so. Not only is this quarter tax time for me, I have people who depend on me in the real world. Further, you will be paying me for work I have already done — unlike the Naked Capitalism fundraiser proper, which sets the budget for the following year — and so having played the fiddle, I am now passing my cap, which I hope will shortly sag with your contributions. Please click the Donate button below and contribute what you can.

🌡️ Thank you!

To make the business relationships clear, Yves writes:

Water Cooler is a separate store front within Naked Capitalism to pay for [Lambert’s] considerable effort on it over and above all the work he already does on the site… Yes, Lambert also gets paid out of the annual fundraiser, but that is for the considerable amount of work he does besides Water Cooler, such as DJing the site, helping manage the comments section, managing a lot of the tech issues, and helping in tooth-gnashing over other “business of running the business” matters.

Readers, you may donate here: