by Robin Kemp

It’s been about a month since I started The Clayton Crescent. I wanted to give you an update on our progress and several significant accomplishments.

We have received our nonprofit incorporation papers from the Georgia Secretary of State. This is an important milestone in making The Clayton Crescent an official nonprofit. Once we gain 501(c)(3) status, we will be able to offer tax writeoffs for donors large and small.

The old site has been replaced by a more professional design, which is responsive to phone, tablet, and desktop layouts. This has been an enormous amount of behind-the-scenes work and I’m continuing to refine the mechanics. Please do feel free to e-mail me with any feedback if you’re having trouble using it or want to suggest any improvements.

Besides reporting, writing, photographing, and producing 16 podcasts with local newsmakers for you, I have met with some grantmaking consultants via Zoom and am moving forward with the 501(c)(3) development process. I am working with a likely fiscal sponsor. I am working out the details of a proposed budget and audience development.

Fundraising for the Phase One goal of $2,000 is progressing on three fronts. We are more than halfway there! As of this writing at 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13, you have generously donated:

$825 on GoFundMe

$100 cash donation

$150 on Facebook Donation

These funds are necessary just to open our doors as a business entity. I remain unemployed but have fronted all expenses myself. To date, expenses total $645.81 for subscriptions, business filings, memberships, and similar basics. We need to file with the city and county, get a tax ID, open a bank account, determine our bookkeeping source, develop a logo/brand, solicit board members, and begin marketing in earnest. All this is Phase One.

Phase Two is when the rubber hits the road. We will need to raise significant money on an ongoing basis in order to pay people for the work it takes to bring you proper coverage of our area. I do have a short list of potential staffers. However, neither I nor they can make a living if we do not have community and foundation support. I personally will never ask anyone to work for free or for less than the going rate. If you support that ethic, I ask you to support The Clayton Crescent.

Fundraising in the time of COVID-19 poses special challenges. We are cooking up some creative workarounds to be announced. However, we do have some major advantages:

We are free of expensive printing press, distribution, and debt issues. Our biggest ongoing expense will be staffing. We don’t need a ton of capital expenditures for fancy new gear. The potential employee pool consists of seasoned, highly talented reporters who know what they’re doing.

This is not “Hey, kids, let’s put on a show.” This is investigative reporting, public accountability, and high-caliber multimedia, all for you, the people of Clayton County and the Southside, who deserve to be treated with the seriousness we merit as a community that does the heavy lifting for much of metro Atlanta.

We’re not beholden to anyone but you.

Thank you for your overwhelming support.

Robin Kemp
Editor/Publisher/Producer/Founder/Chief Head Gofer In Charge
The Clayton Crescent and The Real Story with Robin Kemp