Double your impact — all gifts are matched

I’m writing to ask for your support for The Charlotte News.

There are lots of reasons to make a gift to your hometown newspaper.

First, you value our coverage. Each time you open your copy of The Charlotte News, or visit our website, you learn something new — about our town and the people who live here.

In the past few issues, we’ve run stories about the return of the tractor parade, new developments at Nordic Farms, celebrating the town administrator’s first year, the Ferry Road speed limit controversy and innovative funding for solar at the town garage. We also publish news from the food shelf, the library and senior center and list upcoming town meetings, recent real estate transactions and our popular calendar of events. If you like what you read, I invite you to join me in making a gift to The Charlotte News.

Second, The Charlotte News is a true community newspaper, created by us and for us. It’s the people that make it special. In the course of a year, our employees, freelancers and board members work with 140 volunteers, 70 advertisers and funding provided by hundreds of donors to publish and distribute 25 issues of The Charlotte News.

Third, and this is something to celebrate, your gift now goes twice as far. For the fifth year in a row, The Charlotte News has received a grant from NewsMatch, a national program that supports nonprofit community journalism.

For every gift we receive, up to $1,000, NewsMatch will double it. So, when you give $100, we receive $200; give $50 and we receive $100, and so on.

Even better, consider making a monthly gift. For every monthly gift we receive — say $10 or $20 — NewsMatch multiplies the gift by twelve!

It’s quick and easy to make your gift on our secure website or if you prefer, you may send your check to us at P.O. Box 251, Charlotte VT 05445.

We distribute the newspaper without charge, but it is not free. It costs about $6,000 to publish each issue of the newspaper and to keep the website humming along.

Your gift, in any amount, helps us cover this cost and helps fuel growth in our news coverage and stories about our neighbors. This is the kind of reporting that you’ve told us you want the newspaper and website to provide. We’re ready to make that happen — but we need to hear from you today.

Thank you in advance for your support.

For those who have already given, thank you. And to all our readers, best wishes for a happy holiday season in the company of family and friends.

(John Quinney is a board member and chair of the fundraising committee.)