Community Staff Editorials

From our Board of Directors | Much depends on the next two weeks

We at Gig Harbor Now have big plans for 2025. We want to step up our watchdog coverage of local governments, launch new email newsletters and provide more of the in-depth local coverage our audience craves.

In short, we want to continue growing, like we did in 2024.

But it’s no exaggeration to say that whether we grow in 2025 depends on the last two weeks of 2024.

We’ve said it many times since our NewsMatch campaign began on Nov. 1, but we’ll say it again now: This is our most important fundraiser of the year. NewsMatch provides 40% of our budget.

From left, editor Vince Dice and board members Lynda Filson and Candace Savage during a 2022 meeting in Gig Harbor. Photo by Larry Steagall

We are good stewards of your donations. About half of our budget goes directly to journalism – to the reporters who produce the coverage on which Gig Harbor relies.

During the Institute for Nonprofit News’ NewsMatch campaign, national funders match local donations. That’s why it’s so important that we meet our goal – because a dollar donated locally during NewsMatch means $2 to us.

And we now have another opportunity. We, the Gig Harbor Now Board of Directors, are putting up their combined donations as a community match worth $15,000. We have until the end of December to raise that much or more.

With just two weeks left in the NewsMatch campaign, we have brought in only $47,700 toward our $75,000 goal.

We are hoping to expand our coverage in 2025. But if we don’t meet our NewsMatch goal, that may not be possible.

Can you help today? Please donate here.

Candace Savage, president

Stace Gordon, vice president

Lynda Filson, treasurer

Sandy Jeter, secretary

Dave Martens, director

Kathy Cummings, director

Heidi Giles, director

Tyler Calvi, director