Dear Reader,
We are so close to the end of our Fall Member Drive. A generous donor from Charlotte has stepped up to match all donations received and help us reach our goal by Saturday, September 20. Will you double your impact now and keep us digging?
Give before 11:59 p.m. on September 20 and you will be entered to win one of two $250 gift cards from Johnson Woolen Mills, plus your contribution of up to $500 will be matched. New monthly sustaining gifts will be matched for a year and we will send you a sustainer decal.
Publishing is the final step — the work behind every VTDigger story is largely unseen. Take our recent reporting on Americans for Prosperity, the political advocacy group funded by the Koch network that is working to reverse climate action in Vermont.
When our political reporter Shaun Robinson noticed that Americans for Prosperity (AFP) had incurred a lobbying fine in Vermont, it piqued his interest. While other high-profile groups have often supported liberal causes, it was unusual to see a conservative national network entering Vermont politics in this way. Then our Statehouse reporter Ethan Weinstein received a tip that a misspelling on an AFP mailer led to an online attack on the group’s tactics by the Vermont Democratic Party.
Robinson and Weinstein handed off their tips to our environmental reporter Austyn Gaffney who ran with them. The seed of the story grew into weeks of reporting that included combing through state documents and public records, attending an AFP event in Rutland, interviewing legislators, politicos and community leaders, digging into years of national investigative reporting on “dark money” politics and partnering with Grist to bring the story to a wider audience.
The result? Investigative journalism at its core: persistent, independent, fact-based reporting that shines a light on forces shaping our democracy and our communities. It doesn’t happen without reader support.
If you believe Vermont deserves this kind of reporting, please make a gift today and it will be doubled. Become a monthly sustaining member and your monthly gift will be matched for 12 months. Will you join us?
Your donation directly funds the time, resources, and independence required to pursue stories like these. There is no better time to support this work.
Thank you for making watchdog journalism possible in Vermont.
Libbie Sparadeo
Director of Membership and Engagement, VTDigger
P.S. Read the full story by Austyn Gaffney.
