Dear Reader,
We are in the home stretch of our campaign to raise 3,000 cloth masks for area hospitals with the help of 3,000 VTDigger members. We have been humbled by the outpouring of support from new and existing members, and we are thrilled to say we are almost there!
I want to take a minute to share with you why we decided to launch this ambitious campaign.
Every spring, we run a Spring Membership drive. It’s one of two large membership appeals that sustain VTDigger’s news gathering operation for the year.
We sit down and look at how much VTDigger needs to raise in order to operate in the coming year. Then we set a dollar amount as a goal and ask readers to help us reach it. In addition to mailing a letter with an appeal, we usually offer personal gifts like NYTimes subscriptions, hats, stickers, and raffle drawings to incentivize readers to become members.
This spring, a large direct mail campaign wasn’t possible. And frankly, it didn’t feel right to send personal gifts when we knew our readers would want to help.
We were (and continue to be) flat out covering the coronavirus pandemic. And in the past six weeks, readership has quadrupled. About 1 million readers a month have come to VTDigger for information they need to understand how Covid-19 is impacting Vermont.
In this challenging time, we decided to ask new and existing readers to send cloth masks to the health care community, instead of sending members personal gifts.
And yes, we need your help, too. More than half of our budget comes from membership dollars. This year, with economic uncertainty hurting underwriting sales, we will be more dependent on our readers than ever.
There are only three days left of our partnership with Vermont Glove. We are incredibly thankful to the more than 2,250 people who have already given to this effort.
If you have been considering a membership with VTDigger, now is the time to act.
From now until Thursday, when you become a member at any level– whether it’s $1 or $100 — you will be sending a mask to a local hospital and supporting the local journalism you rely on.
With deep gratitude,
Anne Galloway
Founder and Editor, VTDigger
