More than 100 people made our Sustainable Journalism Foundation happy hour quite happy on Friday at The Speakeasy in Oklahoma City. Attendees helped us raise more than $2,000, plus several monthly donation commitments.
Those in attendance also learned more about NonDoc’s transition to nonprofit operations during our first public meeting of our five-person Sustainable Journalism Foundation board.
Some highlights of the 15-minute discussion included:
- Announcement that the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation has approved our $25,000 grant application for our 2020 transition;
- Discussion of our overall 2020 fundraising goal of $250,000 and how we are more than halfway there roughly six weeks into the new year;
- Announcement that we have hired a new managing editor who will start work Monday, March 2;
- Introduction of key staff like operations manager Angela Jones, staff reporter/editor Matt Patterson, student editor Archiebald Browne and Sundaze cartoonist Mike Allen, who has been with NonDoc since inception;
- The reveal of NonDoc’s first t-shirt, which is available to all supporters who donate at least $100 to the Sustainable Journalism Foundation in 2020;
You make our journalism sustainable
For those who could not attend Friday’s happy hour, do not fret. We will have other events this year aimed at ensuring public access to our organization. On Friday, some of the best conversations our staff had were with supporters who had ideas about coverage, fundraising and growth options.
If you were unable to make it Friday but would still like to make a donation to sustainable journalism in your community, check out our Writers’ Fund page. Every $5 helps, and if you commit more than $100 for 2020, you will qualify for a new Writers’ Fund t-shirt.
Lastly, please remember that you and your friends or colleagues can stay up to date with NonDoc’s work on Twitter, Facebook or by signing up for our weekly Thursday newsletter. Of course, don’t forget that when the Oklahoma Legislature is in session, our Monday Minute newsletter previews each week’s potential events at the State Capitol. You can find today’s edition here.
As always, thank you for reading, and thank you for making our brand of independent journalism sustainable in 2020 and beyond.
