The Hardwick Gazette’s end-of-year fundraising campaign is a unique opportunity to take a giant step toward financial sustainability. If successful, this would be a game-changer. Here’s how this drive came about, and why it’s such a unique moment for your local newspaper.
The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) is a national organization working to develop nonprofit news at a time when advertising revenue can no longer pay the freight. One of INN’s key programs is NewsMatch, which offers matching funds for members’ end-of-year fundraising campaigns, effectively doubling the power of each donation.
This year, NewsMatch offered $15,000 in matching funds to The Gazette. Another $5,000 has been provided by major foundations associated with INN: $3,000 for rural news operations, and $2,000 for organizations located in New England.
That brings the total to $20,000 in matching funds. In addition, INN offered up to $3,000 to news organizations that create local matching funds to work alongside NewsMatch. To get the maximum $3,000, The Gazette had to create a local fund of at least $20,000.
Thanks to generous support from several local donors, The Gazette exceeded the $20,000 target. So, combining national and local matching funds, The Gazette can double every donation up to at least $40,000. (NewsMatch will only match individual donations of up to $1,000. The local matching fund has no such limit.)
One more thing: INN also offers a $1,000 incentive for receiving donations from at least 50 new donors, people who have never given to The Gazette before.
If this drive is successful, The Gazette would raise at least $84,000. This would pay for ongoing operations and improvements in news-gathering, production, and financial operations. To date, The Gazette has been a scrappy operation with a small, hardworking staff and a number of dedicated volunteers. The Gazette needs to grow in order to be a sustainable operation providing the news coverage our 11 communities deserve.
The stakes are high. Failure is not an option. Fortunately, the response has been strong. The Gazette has already surpassed the halfway mark to the goal of raising, and matching, at least $40,000 in reader donations.
Every donation matters! If you’ve never given before and you donate $25, your gift is doubled and you help achieve that $1,000 incentive for new donors. The more people join in the effort, the stronger The Gazette becomes.
The drive continues through the end of the year, but why wait? Act today! Go to hardwickgazette.org/donate.
John Walters, board member
John Walters is the sole author of The Vermont Political Observer, readable for free (but donations cheerfully accepted) at thevpo.org. Walters has had a long career in print and broadcast journalism. He’s been an observer of Vermont politics since 2011, including a three-year stint as political columnist for Seven Days. He is on the board of NEK Public Journalism. He lives in East Montpelier with his loyal spouse, two house rabbits and two cockatiels.
