YOUR ELi: Why People Support Us

Do you donate to ELi, and if so, why? We asked, and you answered.

ELi recently conducted its first reader survey, which focused mainly on ranking the reader-requested “Ask ELi” stories so we can plan to cover what interests you the most. The results of that part of the survey are available here.

We also asked readers whether they donate to ELi and why they do (or don’t). Of 52 survey respondents, 33 answered the question “Please tell us why you have or haven't donated to ELi.”

Reader feedback on donating to ELi

Most answers were from readers either actively supporting or planning to support ELi (as well as one reader who indicated that it “hadn’t occurred to them” to donate). Comments included:

 “Pleased to support independent journalism in the area.”

“'ELi' is an extremely informative and providing a vital public service. I'm proud to be a monthly subscriber.”

 “It's important to have all viewpoints shared.”

“I think we need the government reporting that ELi provides, and it's great that ELi's coverage is much broader than politics. Obviously, it takes money to do this, so I support it!”

“Because it is the best source of EL news.”

“I enjoy the articles and know people who use it as their source for local news.”

“A great resource for the community that needs to continue.”

“Terrific reporting.”

“You provide info not easily available elsewhere!”

“It is focused on EL and seems to be fairly objective and willing to do the necessary research to dive into a question (unlike something like the LSJ).”

“This is important work and something we need. I like to read in-depth articles that get to the underlying facts, not just what each side said about each other. It is a struggle to find such reporting at any level in our journalism coverage these days -- the fact that I can support that locally is an opportunity well worth taking.”

“ELi provides good reporting on matters not reported by the larger media in the area, and in some cases, better investigative reporting.”

“It's the only news source for EL matters and it is high quality reporting.”

“I believe in your mission and talent.”

“The site brings forward a sense of community, particularly because the reports are by ‘us’ and for ‘us’…The site reports on issues that are critical to maintaining our community, growing our community, and its long-term survival.”  

We appreciate all of our donors tremendously, and if you’d like to join them it’s as easy as clicking here.

Some readers’ concerns about relying on readers to be donors:

Three respondents questioned the sustainability of ELi’s donor-based funding model:

“I have [donated] because I admire your work and I think it is an important community service. However I question the long term viability of the donation approach. Take ads?”

“Although I very much appreciate the fantastic job ELi does, I can't financially support a business model that is 100% donation driven. In my experience, these types of organizations are unsustainable and almost always eventually fold. . . . ”

“Relying on donations is not a sustainable model so I do not want to enable it.”

We’re aware that exclusively relying on donations is unlikely keep us reporting indefinitely, and moving to seek additional sources of support such as grants and sponsors. Although we’ve done a lot, to grantors, we are still pretty young! We have needed enough time to build something to show potential funding sources what we can do, and that we’re providing a critically important community service.

While we’re getting to the point of being grant funded, we need all the help we can get from you. Our first financial fiscal year just ended June 30, and so we are now preparing our first annual report, which will allow us to show potential grantors the amazing public service we’ve achieved on very little money, all things considered.

Let us be clear: Although we believe we will continue to thrive if you help us, we think you should support us even if you believe—contrary to our goal—that ELi won’t last for many years into the future. As our publisher Alice Dreger says, saying ‘I won’t donate to you because you won’t last forever’ is like starving a sapling of water because you know no tree can live forever.”

With your help, ELi can and will grow taller and stronger, from this year, to the next, to the next, and as it does, it will grow into a mature “tree” with deep roots and a broader crown. We think ELi is too important not to keep going, even if just for one or two more years.

So click to see who has been watering us, and click here to join them.