This March, BSR readers decide: Do we reduce our coverage?

Life in today’s nonprofit media always feels precarious, from the challenges of funding independent journalism to overt suppression and threats from the federal government. But we’re extra strapped this spring: grants are only getting more competitive and some of our foundation funding is drawing down, leaving us with a gap that threatens our team’s April paychecks and may lead to a reduction in our coverage this spring.

To fill the gap, we need to raise $10,000 by March 31. The good news is that our readers are already responding, raising $1,700 as of March 10. But we need to keep that momentum going if we’re going to make our goal.

Bigger than BSR

And it’s not just about us. As editor, I often hear from folks who are disappointed when our coverage couldn’t stretch to include something they wanted to see in our pages. BSR’s budget is not just about the support of one organization. As one of Philly’s last remaining arts outlets, we’re an integral part of Philly’s creative economy. People who support arts media are actually supporting the fabric of our whole cultural community: BSR’s event guides, reviews, essays, and reporting ask critical questions, amplify artists, and connect cultural organizations to new audiences.

Nobody can go it alone

It’s always super vulnerable to ask for what you need. A lot of us here in the media and arts world are focused on that hyper-independent grind, in a world with fewer and fewer institutional supports for creative types. We all want to prove we can do it alone, but the reality is we can’t. So we at BSR turn to you.

If everyone who read BSR this month chipped in $3, we’d quickly meet our goal. The reality is that the vast majority of readers don’t give, and that’s ok—we know how hard it is out there right now for so many of us. But if a one-time gift is in your power today, it’d make a big difference right now. And either way, you can help a lot just by boosting this funding call. Let your friends and followers know about the opportunity to preserve independent arts media in Philadelphia.

The decision is yours

Make your Readers Decide gift here. Any amount will help us meet our goal! Thanks for being part of our community. If you want to hear more about this from BSR leaders, check out the short conversation below between Alaina Johns and Neil Bardhan (enjoy the cat cameo!).