As a journalistic enterprise, we always like our stories to have a news hook. So, given that the holiday season is upon us we thought it was a good time to ask you, our readers, to consider making an end-of-year donation to support Crosscut’s nonprofit news enterprise.
Some reader contributors tell us they buy a holiday membership (for themselves or a loved one) at the $100-$250 level. Others say they like to attach their gift to a specific Crosscut project or strategic initiative, something they really want to see flourish. For those readers, we have a few targeted gift ideas:
1. Support at-risk youth in the Pacific Northwest with a donation to our nationally-recognized series, Kids@Risk;
2. Contribute to the redesign of our website, which will improve the Crosscut experience for everyone, but most especially those of you who use mobile devices to catch-up on the news;
3. Help us bring people together — in the flesh — to talk political and cultural affairs by sponsoring our Civic Cocktail events and other Crosscut Conversations;
4. Love the arts? So do we. Help us develop more, and more in-depth profiles and features about NW artists, arts and culture;
5. If politics is your passion, how about supporting Crosscut’s “Under the Dome” team, which will bring you gavel-to-gavel coverage of the 2014 legislative session in Olympia? Our Oly correspondent John Stang is joined this session by Robert Mak, one of the most respected public affairs broadcast reporters in the region. You can expect (and help underwrite) their insightful, multimedia reports from Olympia, Seattle, King County and beyond;
6. Maybe you’re more intrigued by what will happen in Seattle, where a new mayor and the first Socialist city councilmember start work in January. Help us cover City Hall like never before;
7. Attention, Eastsiders. We’ve been steadily expanding our coverage of your backyard. With a little support we could speed the plow and become the daily news source for Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, all the Eastside communities;
8. When we think of the Eastside, we think technology, a major engine of our regional economy. Local media gives this critical area short shrift. We’re prepared to fill the void. You can help;
9. Let’s talk sports. If you like Art Thiel’s reporting — and really, who doesn’t? — sponsor Art’s smart, tart videos and columns about the Seahawks, Huskies, Mariners and Sounders;
10. Like any well-run company our nonprofit needs support services. Ours are pretty modest: a finance guy, an office manager, some phones, computers. If you could pitch in on the overhead, we’d be grateful.
It’s really easy to make a contribution. You can just click here to donate; call us at 206-382-6137 and we’ll take your pledge over the phone; snailmail your check to our offices at 105 S. Main Suite 330 Seattle, Washington 98104; or email your pledge to membership@crosscut.com.
However you choose to donate, we thank you very much for your support. And Happy Holidays from all of us here at Crosscut!
