By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor
The NKyTribune has once again been chosen by NewsMatch for an matching grant aimed at encouraging individual readers to support — and sustain — this nonprofit news organization. The Tribune led the way as nonprofit news organizations grown exponentially around the country, creating local news outlets in newspaper desserts — and providing the “tribal fire” communities need.
The NKyTribune was founded in 2015 by a group of professional journalists, mostly with ties to the former Kentucky Post, whose hearts were in the community and whose souls were devoted to professional journalism of the kind that went missing with the demise of their beloved newspaper.
NewsMatch is a collaboration between the Democracy Fund, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to support nonprofit news organizations that play an increasingly vital role in informing the public across America. It is a large grassroots fundraising campaign and that means that between now and the end of the year, individual contributions to the NKyTribune (tax deductible) will be matched for each individual.
This program continues to advance us both strategically and financially to the next step of the model we set out to build. We aim to engage a broad-based network of individual supporters that will solidify our base and grow it. We have said from the beginning that our region CAN have its own newspaper — but only if the community wants it and will support it. As a nonprofit, the NKyTribune belongs to the community.
The team at the NKyTribune is deeply committed to its community. We provide — free to all — news about our schools and our governments, obituaries, unparalleled prep sports coverage, health care coverage, nonprofit stories and opportunities, a platform for comments and civil discourse… and more. We are nonpartisan, champions of community good and quality of life, and hold up as examples the role models we should emulate.
We write compelling stories about our neighbors, have partnered with others in our community on news and commentary, have reached out to important local organizations to share content and empower community engagement. We bring news of the state into NKY and have strategically partnered with organizations across the state to get NKY news out to the rest of the state too. We have a direct partnership with NewsBreak whereby they automatically pick up all our stories and distribute them to their worldwide audience. We have stretched ourselves to keep our services free from paywalls or fees.
We have enjoyed amazing support from the business and nonprofit community, and we have to continue to grow that support and our sponsorship base.
Now, we reach out to individuals as well – and that’s what NewsMatch means to encourage.
Every new penny from this extraordinary INDIVIDUAL membership campaign will go back into the news site – to hire more reporters and editors who, like us, just want to tell the stories the way they are supposed to be told – honestly and fairly, ethically, and professionally.
We share your concern about the “state of the news,” and we’re here – your neighbors and friends – to answer for what we do and why we do it. We value your regard and your views – however divergent they may be – and we expect to hear when we don’t measure up. If you speak, we listen. If you call, we answer. We truly appreciate when you find that grammatical error or the mistake in a headline (these things happen but are easily fixed, thanks to our readers’ sharp eyes).
Send your check to the NKyTribune, 644 Braddock Ct., Edgewood, Ky. 41017 or make a contribution online at this link on The Tribune’s homepage.
The NKyTribune is published by the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism which is an IRS-tax-approved charity. You donations are tax-deductible.
Thank you for anything you can do.
Please share this story with your friends so that everyone can know about — and take advantage of — The NKyTribune.