Donors save Toledo Streets Newspaper
1/1/2018The Jan. 1 issue of a monthly Toledo Streets Newspaper will be late being printed this month, but the paper’s management team is thankful it will be printed at all.
The publication was at-risk of ending in December because of a lack of funds. It’s unclear when in January the next issue will be distributed.
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Bryce Roberts, chairman of the paper’s board of directors, said the paper has not reached the fund-raising goal of $21,000 — which would carry it through the first quarter of the year. However, the fund-raising effort has been successful enough for the paper to continue.
“The main donors have asked to be anonymous,” Mr. Roberts said. “But they’ve been extremely generous. Based on their response, it’s clear that the Toledo Streets Newspaper is something the community really wants.”
The paper bills itself as “covering community news, especially Toledo’s many people and organizations making positive change, plus news related to homelessness, poverty, and similar social justice issues.” It started in October, 2009, as a program of 1Matters, the group behind Tent City.
Mr. Roberts said the eight-member board is excited for potential new partnerships while the board itself continues to grow.
“I am grateful to everybody who has made the paper happen in the past, and I am very excited about its future,” he said.
The paper’s annual budget is about $84,000, funded in part by city of Toledo grants, which have dropped about three times over the past three years from roughly $30,000 to about $10,000 a year, said John Keegan, the paper’s executive director.
The rest of the money came from fund-raisers and smaller grants, which was not enough.
“I am thrilled that we are still open and running,” Mr. Keegan said. “Our writing team is excited to continue with the good stories. Toledo is a very compassionate community and so the writers are excited to tell new stories about our new connections with our supporters and the events that are happening around town.”
Contact Mike Sigov at sigov@theblade.com, 419-724-6089, or on Twitter @mikesigovblade.