There are only nine days left in our Ark Valley Voice NewsMatch Challenge: if we can raise $15,000 in community donations by December 31, the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) will match that $15,000 – effectively doubling every dollar of your 100 percent tax-deductible donation.
But we are running behind the pace to reach that $15,000 match by the end of the year – and we have to make that amount or we won’t get any of the $15,000 match.
AVV Crew brainstorms how to cover a county issue. AVV file photo.
As of this morning, we stand at $10,300 of qualified donations toward the INN NewsMatch, much of it coming in $50, 60, and $100 donations. We have $4,700 to go.
Our gratitude to Ark Valley Voice readers for your readership and support is enormous. Those matching funds are critical for us to continue to pay our news journalists and keep the lights on.
But the reality is that making fact-based news available for free — not hidden behind a firewall — doesn’t mean it is free to produce. Holding governments accountable, exploring injustices, highlighting important issues, and ensuring those speaking the truth have a voice against those who would propagate misinformation and innuendos requires reporters who know what they are doing — who deserve to make a modest living too.
In addition to our regular news coverage, AVV has dived into impactful issues affecting local, state and national audiences:
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Senior Reporter and AVV Editorial Board member Dan Smith covers the Colorado Democrats “Get Out The Vote” rally in Riverside Park, Oct. 29, 2022. Merrell Bergin photo
Tara Flanagan, our Water Fellow, reported on the growing water crisis in the state and how the Colorado River Basin is connected to the Arkansas River Valley, and the health of our economy;
- AVV investigative reporters were the first news media to report on the formation and rise of the group known as Chaffee Patriots, and the first news organization in the state to highlight these groups’ links to private armies such as the Three Percenters, and the Oathkeepers’, as well as the first to report on the appearance of right-wing elements including election integrity groups perpetuating election lies.
- As members of the Colorado News Collaborative and the Chaffee County Board of Health Forum, AVV reporters provided comprehensive local coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, attending hundreds of meetings. We also contribute to the On Edge Series, a state-wide COVID coverage of the state’s pandemic response and mental health crisis.
- AVV Managing Editor Jan Wondra conducted the first (and still the only) interview with Dominion Voting System VP Dr. Eric Coomer, providing an inside look at the damage of the “Big Lie” on the Constitutional process;
- AVV Senior Reporter Dan Smith continues to cover HRRMC issues with regional impact; from the boiler problems to the current TABOR missteps;
- AVV reporters cover the ongoing debates over workforce housing and the county’s struggles to manage growth that are shared by this region, the state, and the nation.
If you think about the news AVV brings to you six days a week and what it means to you and your friends and family to be informed citizens, we hope you will click the “Donate” link to make a 100 percent tax-deductible donation to our fiscal sponsor INN, in any amount to support the mission to ensure that “Truth Has a Voice.”
All donations made to INN are earmarked and restricted for AVV use.
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