Dear Reader,
We are here to ask for your support once again. But this year is different, in fact very different. This time, we have the chance to take a leap forward thanks to the generous support of the wonderful folks at NewsMatch. They will match every donation dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000. In addition, the Wyncote Foundation will match every donation up to $10,000 as part of NewsMatch 2018.
But we need to raise our half of the money first, and its something we've never taken for granted. Do you really care about what we do? Will you be willing to step up and show how much the Hidden City Daily means to you by giving? We certainly hope so, but let's look back for a moment at what happened in 2018.
Last year we were thrilled to exceed our $30,000 fundraising goal by about $8,000, and decided to plow the money right back into the Daily. Specifically, we used the additional funds to pay our managing editor something closer to a living wage (still not quite there yet!) and double our freelance budget. This in turn allowed us to engage the services of a talented writer to cover historic preservation on a regular basis, especially the goings on at the Historic Preservation Task Force.
It was a step in the right direction but imagine what we could do with an additional $35,000! Are there stories out there that aren't being covered--uplifting stories, important stories, horrifying stories? Are there professional journalists whose work we admire but whom we couldn't afford to hire? Will we finally, at long last, make our website mobile-friendly? Yes, yes and yes!
We've always figured we produce journalism that's really pretty darn good, even spectacular on occasion, given our limited resources. Now we have the chance to banish that caveat, to raise the level of journalism in the Hidden City Daily,. Now we have the opportunity to promise you not just another year with 150 stories but a better year filled with compelling writing and superb photography. More architecture, more history, more photography, more trips inside places you’ve never been before.
But we can only do it with the help of readers like you. You are why we exist. You make us possible. Our 2018 Fund Drive ends on December 31, 2018, but don't wait until the eleventh hour (and drive us half out of our minds with worry).
Give now, double your impact and help usher in a new stage in the life of the Hidden City Daily!
Warmest regards,
Pete Woodall, Project Director
(Hidden City Philadelphia is a 501c3 nonprofit and all donations to this campaign are tax deductible.)
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