Friends,
A year and a half ago, we set out with backpacks full of ambition on a quest to raise $10 million to strengthen our journalism and transform HCN into a modern, digitally savvy newsroom. We needed funds well beyond our annual budget to deploy enough staff and technology to cover the West’s growing news deserts, and to bring even more readers reliable reporting so they could remain informed.
It was a lofty goal, but we were buoyed by our 50-year legacy, and by the staunch mettle of our community of readers — people who have inspired and fueled our work from the beginning.
The past 18 months have presented obstacles that none of us could have imagined, but still, our community has rallied. Not only have you powered our journalism through the depths of a pandemic, you have brought us within striking distance of our $10 million goal.
Between now and June 4, when we will finally gather (virtually) to celebrate HCN’s 50th Anniversary, we need to raise $700,000 to complete the campaign and make the investments that will help keep us around for the next half-century.
If you haven’t already, please join me, the HCN staff and board and the hundreds of readers and donors who have made a donation or pledge. Donate: hcn.org/50More
This is a mountain we climb together.
–Greg Hanscom, executive director/publisher
PLEASE SUPPORT HCN’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN:
• Via phone: 800-905-1155
• Donate securely online: hcn.org/50More
• Mail a check to HCN, PO Box 1090, Paonia, CO 81428
• Bid on an auction item or raise the paddle at our virtual celebration and fundraiser (see below)
Be our guest
Friday, June 4, from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. MT
We hope you will join us as we look back on 50 incredible years of journalism in the West. Enjoy powerful performers and speakers, along with live and silent auction items and a paddle raiser to help us finish the final leg of our 50th Anniversary Campaign.
Admission is FREE! Please register to join the festivities: hcne.ws/west-illuminated
PROGRAM
• Guest speaker John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund
• Reading by author Terry Tempest Williams
• Messages from our executive director, Greg Hanscom, and our new editor-in-chief, Jennifer Sahn
• Live Auction and Paddle Raiser
• Poetry by Claudia Castro Luna
SILENT AUCTION
From May 22-June 4, bid on a delightful array of donated items to help support the future of nonprofit journalism for the West.
LIVE AUCTION & PADDLE RAISER
After the main program, we’ll invite guests to help raise the remaining funds for our 50th Anniversary Campaign. There will be a broad range of bidding amounts to include all levels of generosity!
This event is powered by Handbid. When you register, you will receive a link to view the live event on June 4, and be able to peruse and bid on silent auction items between May 22-June 4. Credit card registration through Handbid is required to bid on auction items and to participate in the live paddle raiser at the end of the program. Contact us with questions: development@hcn.org
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline 50th Anniversary.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
