Final Day: $51,000 left to raise
Feels like a sign.
Since launching this project last year, seeing the number 51 in the wild has become a good luck sign – a nod from the universe to keep going.
Last night, as I did one final calculation before bed, I saw we were $51,345 away from our fundraising goal. I can’t help but feel like we’re on the right track.
Thanks to the almost 1,000 of you who have supported this campaign so far, we’re 59% of the way toward our fundraising goal to hire Martin Austermuhle as our first full-time reporter, and sustain Christina Sturdivant Sani as our Executive Editor.
These two journalists are crucial not just to The 51st, but to our city. Take this morning, for example. Before many of us had poured a cup of coffee, Martin wrote 1,600 words on Trump's new order to deploy federal police in D.C. – covering this story with the unrivaled context and analysis that only a reporter with his encyclopedic knowledge of D.C. could deliver. Christina jumped in within minutes to edit him and get the story on our site.
Now, with only a few hours left in our campaign and a ways to go, I feel even more affirmed that we need both of these journalists to grow independent news in D.C. – and even more confident that our goal is within reach.
We'd be there if 510 people gave less than $100, or 1,000 people gave $51. ;) All gifts are still being matched, so when you donate your impact is DOUBLED!
Last year during our launch campaign, we saw over 13,000 people join the cause on the very last day, and that was in big part thanks to so many of you spreading the word about The 51st. So we know this is doable.
If you want billionaire-free local news – local news that works for the community and not for a profit – I’m asking you to please join in and donate what you can today. If you already have (or can’t right now), and you want to see The 51st continue to grow and thrive, please share this final push with friends and community. It makes all the difference.
I'm so grateful to be building this with you.
With determination and gratitude,
Maddie Poore
& The 51st Team
