Pitch in to help our young newspaper keep thriving
Support local journalism — donate today to unlock matching funds and double your gift through our challenge grant.
The Acton Bridge Board of Directors
Hey, Acton! We hope you’re as proud as we are of our fledgling paper, winning New England-wide awards for in-depth reporting in its first four years of publication.
Many thanks to the loyal supporters who have made the vital investment in our operations, enabling us to expand our newsroom, pay competitive salaries, and ward off the pesky bots that threaten all of journalism.
We have great news for those of you who haven’t yet donated. Two early supporters of The Acton Bridge have given us challenge matches totaling $40,000 — to double all gifts from new donors, increased gifts from existing donors, and renewed gifts from prior donors. The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) has also given us an important challenge to encourage new donations. Please jump in now, when the challenges have not yet been met.
Some ask, “How much should I give?” Our answer is simple: Only you know your circumstances and the amount that will make you feel good about supporting local journalism. No gift is too small, and no gift is too big, for that matter.
Most of us remember the time before The Bridge launched in October 2022 — Acton was in a news desert. What a difference four years has made.
Our model is also simple: We deliver, free of charge, newspapers to all residents and businesses, and we offer our online version paywall-free, feeling deeply that civic engagement flows from ready access to local news. The two roughly equal sources that cover our costs are revenue from advertising and donations from readers like you.
An ongoing challenge
Last year, the percentage of households supporting the paper grew to 18%, and many repeat donors increased their level of support. Remarkably, we met the challenge of raising a little over $500,000 to ensure a balanced budget.
Our challenge this year is at least that high, and meeting that challenge will again require larger gifts from more donors. We hope that those among you in a position to do so will make a tax-deductible gift that reflects the value you place on having a local paper. Find a level you can repeat year after year.
Like the longer-lived institutions vital to the fabric of Acton — the library, Acton Museum, the Land Conservation Trust, Emerson Hospital, Acton Carlisle Foundation, and many others — The Bridge depends on sustained habits of annual giving to continue to fulfill our mission of keeping Acton informed and connected.
As we did last winter, in our Valentine’s Day issue this coming February we will thank every donor by name, and we’ll give special recognition to those who support us at the $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 levels. Such donations are truly gifts to the community, helping defray the cost of delivering the paper to individual households. We are deeply grateful for your gift, at whatever amount is appropriate for you.
Thank you abundantly for your support.
