From the Founder’s Desk: Beyond surviving to thriving — give to our News Match campaign

Dear MLTnews Readers:

Much has been written in recent years about the decline of local journalism and what we can do to help it survive. I believe we are asking the wrong question. Instead, let’s ask “How can we make local news thrive?”

This week we launched our annual News Match, a national campaign that supports nonprofit newsrooms. Between now and Dec. 31, donations will be matched 12 times for new monthly donors or doubled for one-time gifts, up to $1,000 per donor.

We have a very ambitious goal this year —  to raise $90,000 — with the goal of providing our community with the robust news organization that it deserves.

What will that money fund? For starters, it means enhanced staffing and expanding coverage of the news you value — provided by trusted and experienced local journalists — from local government to schools to arts and entertainment. Your donations also ensure that we have matching funds on hand for grant opportunities — now in process — to provide more robust K-12 education reporting.

The bottom line, it will move us from surviving to thriving.

It’s been more than two years since we converted our news organization (the umbrella My Neighborhood News Network and its publications My Edmonds News, MLTnews and Lynnwood Today) from for-profit to nonprofit status. I’m proud to say we now have four full-time staff — up from zero payroll employees in 2023 — plus a fifth full-time journalism fellow through Washington State University. Yet, there are many untold stories in our coverage area of 200,000 people (essentially, the footprint of the Edmonds School District) — because we simply don’t have the resources to cover them.

Please consider supporting us at a level that reflects how much you value our local news coverage, from regular reports of government meetings, to photos of beloved events like the Halloween Trunk R Treat and the Tree Lighting, to news of high school musicians and athletes, to accomplishments of local entrepreneurs.

If you are an existing monthly donor, your contributions will be doubled in November and December. Any additional gifts you wish to make will also be matched, up to $1,000 per person. All donations are 100% tax deductible, as allowed by law. Our federal tax ID # is 88-3919841.

You can donate here or you can mail a check to:

My Neighborhood News Network
10016 Edmonds Way, Ste. C-150
Edmonds, WA 98020

Please note that we accept disbursements from Donor Advised Funds as well as donations of stock. (Email me here to learn more.)

Please help us create the thriving news organization that our community deserves.

Teresa Wippel
Founder, President and CEO
My Neighborhood News Network
My Edmonds News/MLTnews/Lynnwood Today.

P.S. We recognize that during these challenging financial times, not everyone can make a donation. And that’s the reason we don’t have paywall: to ensure our news is accessible to all.