YachatsNews passes first benchmark in local fundraising effort; two weeks left in June campaign

 

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews

The past two years when YachatsNews conducted its local fundraising campaign my wife, Kathi, asked if I’m embarrassed to seek donations from people.

My answer has been “No, it’s simply a request, not a demand” and people are obviously free to choose whether to support us financially. Yes, it is always a bit awkward, but I believe in the service that YachatsNews is trying to provide. (Plus, I do not embarrass easily.)

There are lots of demands on anyone’s finances – basics like housing, food, transportation, education – and a growing number of good organizations or causes that deserve support.

So it may help to return to YachatsNews’ mission statement – which drives all that we do: “To provide locally reported, fair, unbiased straightforward news of south Lincoln County, its governments, people, community organizations, businesses and the natural environment with an emphasis on good government, transparency, community involvement, civic participation and engagement. Independent, non-profit news. Free to all, funded by readers.”

This is YachatsNews’ third local fundraising campaign. As of mid-week, readers have donated a total of $25,500. Reaching that mark has triggered the first $5,000 “matching challenge” donation from a local donor that increases our total to $30,500. Our goal over the next two weeks is to reach $50,000 so that a second $5,000 “challenge” donation from that individual is also triggered.

Thank you in advance for any help you can afford.

A bit of background

Here’s a bit of background for those readers just coming across YachatsNews.

I launched the local news website in January 2019 as a personal community service project. I have been a journalist since my undergraduate days at Oregon State University and had a very satisfying and rewarding 45 years in the news business as a reporter and editor. But by the time Kathi and I landed in Yachats in 2017 there was little to no local, professional news. I started the site intending to focus on just Yachats-area news.

The coronavirus pandemic changed that as we were stuck at home and I saw the need to expand our coverage to more countywide topics. After a couple of years of that I also realized that the pace and duties of a reporter-editor-producer – even with the help of some very capable freelance writers — was becoming more than one old journalist could handle. So YachatsNews transitioned to a 501c3 nonprofit, raised enough money and hired our first full-time reporter in late 2022.

And, from all accounts, we’re doing pretty well. (Of course, we’re not universally loved but that’s the nature of the news business.)

Here’s a glimpse at some numbers to help illustrate that:

• YachatsNews’ “page views” have grown from 15,000 a month in 2019 to 130,000 a month currently. We’re on track to have more than the 1.6 million page views we had last year.
• Our yearly budget is $82,000 from your donations, foundation grants, and two small monthly revenue streams. We have enough savings in the bank to keep operating for the next 12 months at our current level.
• One of those small monthly revenue streams is from advertising revenue. We appreciate the trust of businesses and organizations who advertise (the newest being the Hatfield Marine Science Center’s visitors center) and the two Waldport organizations (the city of Waldport and Central Coast Fire & Rescue) who now use YachatsNews for their public notices.
• And 25 more people have signed up this month to make small monthly donations through PayPal to support our operations, bringing the total number of monthly donors to 55. This is a potential alternative for readers who don’t want to or can’t write a larger check, but can afford $5 to $15 a month.

As stated in our recent report to readers and stories the past three weeks, YachatsNews wants to do more and better. The focus of this month’s fundraising campaign is to gain enough additional financial support to help hire a second reporter to be based in Newport and cover local governments and countywide issues from there.

It’s a big financial stretch for this little organization, but one we think worth seeking as other local media cut back or do not provide the news coverage that I hope these communities want.

Donation details

So, without any further embarrassment on my part, here’s how you can financially support YachatsNews with whatever you can contribute:

• Write a check and drop it into the mail to YachatsNews, P.O Box 284, Yachats, Ore., 97498;
• Use the “Donate” button on the website to make a one-time contribution through PayPal;
• Paypal also has a feature where you set up an automatic monthly contribution. More people are doing that now (ranging from $5 to $40 a month) and it is a great stabilizer for our monthly operations and much appreciated;
• Advertise your business or organization on the site. Not only will you gain the additional exposure that 130,000 page views a month can bring, but you will be helping sustain this operation. Here is a link to rates and how to get that process started.

YachatsNews is a 501c3 nonprofit so state and federal governments recognize your donation as a charitable tax deduction.

If you have questions during this one-month fundraising campaign, please reach out to me by email at YachatsNews@gmail.com or just pick up the phone and call me at 503-970-3867.

YachatsNews, its staff, freelancers, board – and thousands of readers – appreciate your support.

•    Quinton Smith/editor