South West Durham News is currently financed almost entirely by advertising revenue. We would like to thank every business that has contributed to our revenue through advertising: without you, the local papers simply would not exist.
We are also appealing to readers, and to businesses and community groups who don’t regularly advertise, to consider supporting us through regular sponsorship. Every penny counts and as a not-for-profit community interest company, we can guarantee that every penny will be reinvested into making your paper bigger, better and a permanent fixture of the community.
However, we recognise that, with the best will in the world, a regular contribution isn’t for everyone. We understand the difficulties of living day-to-day – we experience them ourselves in keeping the papers alive – and we know that while some readers may support what we do, they might not always be able to support us financially. That’s where a one-off donation can help you to make a contribution at irregular times when you know you can afford to.
Every penny does count, whether it’s guaranteed every week or whether it’s a pleasant surprise to receive a one-off donation, however small or large. Absolutely every little bit helps. We are committed to being open and transparent about our costs and where our revenue comes from, so we will be publishing that information on our website in the near future.
As an example, it costs us over £65,000 per year simply to print the papers. That’s £1,300 per week, or £5,200 per month. It also costs us over £800 per week to pay our small army of deliverers, who do their best to ensure that you all receive a copy of your local paper. That’s another £3,200 per month to find before any bills are paid. So that’s a total of £8,500 per month just to print and distribute the papers, and we haven’t even paid the staff yet!
And did you know that we actually only have three paid staff: one full-time and two part-time, working hard to regularly publish four local community newspapers? We also have one wonderful volunteer at the moment, but we would like to bring more volunteers on board.
We’re delighted to report that a number of people have been in touch about volunteering across the communities we serve and we will be responding to everyone in due course. We’re also delighted to see new members join and some businesses enquire about sponsorship. And we have also to thank those who have already made a one-off donation: your contribution is of immense value.
As a small, not-for-profit community interest company, we are here for you. We do this for our communities and we work hard every week to bring you a local paper worthy of the name. But we want to do more, including giving volunteers an opportunity to work at their local paper and to hire new paid staff, particularly young people from our communities who aspire to a career in journalism. With your donation, we can make that happen.
If you would like to make a one-off contribution, you can do so by clicking here.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
