Your gift doubled! Real local journalism that's worth supporting

Real reporting from TucsonSentinel.com is the antidote for fake news — and right now, your gift to support nonprofit independent local journalism will be matched, dollar-for-dollar!

Give your tax-deductible gift today — and through the end of the year, every donation (up to $1,000 per individual) will be doubled by NewsMatch, an important initiative to strengthen selected nonprofit newsrooms funded a group of national foundations. This is a great opportunity to help us produce more of the award-winning accountability journalism you have come to expect from TucsonSentinel.com.

That's right: each dollar you give to support truly local independent journalism about Tucson will be matched. And even better, if you sign up right now to give monthly, each dollar you give through all of 2020 will be matched. Pitch in just $20 per month to our experienced local reporters, and NewsMatch will give $240 to TucsonSentinel.com's work.

We've been around for almost a decade (10 years!) — yes, our tenth birthday will be in January. And we want to grow, and bring you and the rest of Tucson and Pima County even more deep-digging, bone-gnawing watchdog journalism.

This is the type of journalism that just cannot wait. If we don't tell these stories, who will?

And that's why you need to join our WATCHDOG CLUB! Every one of our supporters becomes a member!

Subscribe and stretch your donation over time:

$10/mo. Cub Reporter
$15/mo. Printer's Devil
$20/mo. Stringer
$40/mo. Correspondent
$50/mo. Senior Correspondent
Enter your own monthly amount (number only)

Or give a secure one-time gift with PayPal or your credit card:

$5,000 Newshound
$2,500 Trusted Source
$1,000 Copy Desk Chief
$500 Correspondent
$250 Stringer
$100 Printer's Devil
$50 Cub reporter
$25 Informed Source
$10 Dear Reader
Enter your own amount (below)

Want to mail a check instead of donating online? Please make it payable to "TucsonSentinel.com" and send to: 1960 N. Painted Hills, Tucson AZ 85745. Thanks!

Watchdog Club members get:

• Special members-only email updates, with extra insights, analysis and commentary straight from our newsroom, and our reporters in the field
• Invitations to member coffees and happy hours with Sentinel journalists
• Advance notice and special tickets for TucsonSentinel.com events
• Invitations to special VIP donor events
• TucsonSentinel.com's mission-driven nonprofit reporting available for everyone to read

Plus, you'll be invited to join our Watchdog Club on Facebook, where you'll get:

• A special Supporter Badge that shows you back local independent news, displayed next to your comments on our posts
• Exclusive FB posts just for supporters: news alerts, videos, polls & member surveys, photos and behind-the-scenes updates from our reporters
• The knowledge that you're helping TucsonSentinel.com report the most accurate news about meaningful events in Southern Arizona

Why support TucsonSentinel.com? A few of the many reasons:

You value authentically local journalism

In a world full of fake news, you care about the real thing. You know that change happens one person – and one story – at a time. After more than 25,200 stories over the past decade, we've earned your trust.

We've accomplished a lot over our nearly 10 (ten! how'd that even happen?) years of publishing. This year, we were among three finalists for Publisher of the Year among small local news websites across the country. And we were up for a Technology Innovation award sponsored by Facebook, and a national Breaking News award from LION Publishers. And it's with your help that Sentinel senior reporter Paul Ingram was named the Community Journalist of the Year by the Arizona Press Club, and we swept our division in the state's Breaking News awards! And we've got even bigger plans — there are so many other untold stories we'd dig into if we had even more reporters.

You believe that a smarter Tucson is a better Tucson

You understand the importance of an informed community, and the role quality local news plays in our ability to make wise decisions about our future. You're invested in this community — and so are we. As a local business, our revenues go right back into reporting the news; we're not shipping profits out of town that are twice what we pay our reporters and editors.

You back our mission

You realize the importance of a homegrown news organization, that's a mission-driven nonprofit dedicated to making our community a better place to live. With the challenges we face as a community, and the heated partisan rhetoric about which set of "facts" to believe, there's never been a more urgent need for independent, transparent and vigilant local reporting.

Journalism is an vital public service in a democracy. Investigative reporting uncovers injustice, exposes corruption and holds officials accountable. Community reporting celebrates the unique nature of Tucson's people, reflecting our sense of place through a knowing lens.

We aim to provide both: to point out the things we all love about Southern Arizona, and point to possible solutions for what needs changing. We believe that just as an unexamined life is not worth living, an unexamined city is not worth living in.

You appreciate a healthy debate

You want your voice to be heard, and appreciate taking part of a vigorous civic conversation. Our news coverage, analysis columns and community commentaries are where cogent discussions happen. We want to see this town realize its full potential, and we can't do it alone. We need your thoughts — and a few of your dollars.

You've seen our impact

Our reporting digs deep, and tells stories that otherwise wouldn't see the light of day. We peel away the narratives and get beyond the talking points to tell you and your neighbors what's really going on. We report undeniable facts, with solid sources — the sort of up-to-the-minute journalism that inspires action.

We report for everyone

TucsonSentinel.com is a nonpartisan news source — we don't write stories to push any political line. We don't report to tell you what to think, but instead to give you important things to think about.

As part of our nonprofit mission, we've pledged to make our work widely available. We're not setting up a paywall, as we want everyone in Southern Arizona to be able to read our work. When you donate, whether it's a check for $50 or $500 or more, or a recurring monthly gift of $20 or $50, you're not just supporting your own ability to read quality local journalism — you're making it available to your friends and family, your neighbors and the folks who live on the other side of town.

It takes a lot of energy and scrappiness to uphold the high quality of our reporting. And it takes money. Our staff are talented professionals, some with decades of experience in investigative and community journalism. And maintaining our computers, website, cameras, replacing worn-out shoe leather and putting gas in trucks for trips through the desert adds to our costs.

To make things work, we rely on donations from readers like you. That's why TucsonSentinel.com needs your help with this tremendous NewsMatch opportunity. Please give your gift today.

Join donors like Mark Napier (yup, the sheriff), Humberto Lopez, Noam Chomsky (maybe you've heard of the most-cited living academic), Bill Roe, Peter Wilke, John Paul Jones, David Schaller, Karin Uhlich, I. Michael Kasser, JD Wallace (somebody who recognizes quality reporting), Marsha and David Irwin, Barbara Kelly, John Winchester, Mari Jensen, Monica Franzi Humbles, Walter Barnard, Bruce Plenk, Edna Gray, Anita Johnson, Kathleen Kennedy, Jose Garcia, Carl McFarland, Andrea Rickard, Michelle Valenzuela, Robin Hoover, Daniel Cobbledick, Jacquelyn Jackson, Marion MacDonald, Lorraine Glicksman, Sharon Bronson, Ron Barber, Myra Christeck, Karl Schaeffer, Gregory McNamee, Tamara Maki, Tony Davis (ace reporter), Terry Bracy, Kate Kenski, Yue Li, Sarah Launius, Esther White, Tom Zoellner, Jim Kelley, Claire Ellington, Vicki and Patricia Mitchell/Grossman, C.T. Revere (former ace reporter), Paul D'Hedouville, Veronica Feemster Moody, Jeff Latas, Kristin Almquist, Chuck Freitas, Bruce Hermes, Regina Suitt, Chuck Huckelberry, Gretchen Wagenseller, Kristel Foster, Linus Kafka, Milly Haeuptle, Susan Gallegos, Jim Nintzel (hey, even the competition supports us!), H. Clarke Romans, Janni Simner, Tom Volgy, Joel Feinman, Robin Hiller, as well as Margaret Bowden, Jean Reuter, Susan Tiss, Kirsten Engel, Jennifer Phillips and many others, and give your gift today!

A SMARTER TUCSON IS A BETTER TUCSON

Insightful reporting doesn't come free. Make your gift today — you may make a one-time contribution, or sign up for a monthly subscription that supports nonpartisan reporting year-round. And if you operate a local small business, get in touch with us for exclusive rates on effective underwriting packages that reach thousands of Tucsonans every day! http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/sponsor

KEEPING THEM HONEST

You may not know that there are hundreds of journalists who are no longer reporting, just right here in Tucson, compared to a decade ago. Layoffs and shutdowns at chain newspapers and TV stations mean there are many fewer watchdogs looking out for us than a decade ago. Even as our community is growing, our press is shrinking dramatically.

That's why it's even more important to have journalism here that's invested in the success and future of this community, and not looking to send short-term profits out of town from it.

FIGHTING FAKE NEWS WITH REAL REPORTING

We believe that a smarter Tucson is a better Tucson. Our solid reporting has gained attention — not just in Tucson, but across the country — for being accurate and comprehensive.

As a nonprofit, we rely on the support of our readers, and local business owners and civic leaders. We know an informed community is important to you, and that you understand the consequences when watchdogs lose their teeth and are muzzled. We can't make wise decisions as a community without having solid, relevant information. That requires a healthy press — and that requires support from those who recognize the value we deliver in making everyone in this town just a little bit smarter.

About NewsMatch

NewsMatch is a national program to support mission-driven nonprofit newsrooms that uphold the highest ethical and professional standards, and TucsonSentinel.com has again been chosen to participate.

The dollar-for-dollar match of your contribution to local news here in Tucson comes from the generous support of national foundations that believe in our work and are committed to supporting it.

NewsMatch is supported by Democracy Fund, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, the Dirk and Natasha Ziff Family Foundation, and the Present Progressive Fund at Schwab Charitable, along with supporting partners across the U.S.

For a small newsroom like ours, NewsMatch is a game-changer. These funds not only sustain our current reporting efforts, but will allow us to add reporters and expand our coverage—at a time when legacy news chains controlled by hedge funds and conglomerates are slashing staff at an alarming rate (and are poised to cut even more).

Funds raised from this campaign go toward supporting journalism which strengthens our democracy. Every day, journalists in nonprofit newsrooms like TucsonSentinel.com dig deeper into the raw news of the day to deliver in-depth and investigative reporting that engages communities, advances solutions, and demands accountability. Our journalism informs. Our journalism matters. And our journalism is worth supporting.

This news can’t wait. So why would you?

Give today and NewsMatch will double the impact of your donation.

On behalf of the entire TucsonSentinel.com team, thank you!

Dylan Smith
Editor & Publisher

Subscribe and stretch your donation over time:

$10/mo. Cub Reporter
$15/mo. Printer's Devil
$20/mo. Stringer
$40/mo. Correspondent
$50/mo. Senior Correspondent
Enter your own monthly amount (number only)

Or give a secure one-time gift with PayPal or your credit card:

$5,000 Newshound
$2,500 Trusted Source
$1,000 Copy Desk Chief
$500 Correspondent
$250 Stringer
$100 Printer's Devil
$50 Cub reporter
$25 Informed Source
$10 Dear Reader
Enter your own amount (below)