Why local donations matter so much

Lea este articulo en español aquí.

BenitoLink is currently showing $40,752 in donations in the Fall NewsMatch with the goal of taking advantage of a full $66,500 matching opportunity. Our match comes from several community members who think having trustworthy local news is the best thing for San Benito County. Those folks—Sallie Calhoun and Matt Christiano, Randy and Rebecca Wolf and Leon and Janet Mayou—are making a major effort to keep quality, trusted local news flowing in this county.

We keep mentioning the Fall NewsMatch fundraiser and we will until the very end of 2023, when this amazing matching opportunity expires. 

Why do community donations of all sizes matter so much?

BenitoLink was created by community members when local newspapers failed and out-of-county-owned news organizations stopped covering important meetings like the Board of Supervisors and Hollister and San Juan Bautista city councils. Critical decisions that affect residents and are often paid for through their taxes, were being made daily with no oversight.

Today we reach about 60,000 unique visitors every month. We dig into why the FBI is investigating the San Benito County Free Library. We pour over data that gives us insight into our schools. We still make time for an enjoyable Eat, Drink, Savor feature. 

BenitoLink also brings you election forums, candidate interviews, and community oriented listening sessions. We are your news outlet, publishing fresh articles every day. If you want local news, it’s important that you support it and enable the hard-working BenitoLink news team to continue serving you.

The Institute for nonprofit news (INN) is offering $16,500 of this total match. But foundations and nonprofits like INN demand evidence that the community supports its own newsroom. So, your donation is doubly important because it proves that BenitoLink is needed and valued by the community it serves. Your donation also helps us bring in more funding.

Let’s not waste this opportunity. Let’s make use of the whole match being offered: $66,500.

We’ve got a little ways to go and not a lot of time left in the year. Do what you can to help BenitoLink provide San Benito County residents with the news they need and deserve.

Thank you to all our donors!