We’re halfway through our annual fundraising drive and we need to raise $100,000 by November 30 in order to raise $200,000 for The Clayton Crescent’s operations and expansion.
The Clayton Crescent depends on financial support from two sources: our generous readers and grants we receive through NewsMatch, the grantmaking arm of the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Our budget is smaller than nearly every other nonprofit news operation out there. It’s certainly among the smallest in metro Atlanta. Yet The Clayton Crescent consistently breaks major news stories that are then picked up by our colleagues in other newsrooms around town. We have their respect.
Robin Kemp and the Clayton Crescent are the bedrock of true journalism, that local knowledge, reporting, and dogged truth seeking that democracy depends on. We at the BBC leaned on Robin’s indefatigable efforts in the wake of the 2020 presidential election (see this short documentary for the BBC’s Newsnight programme). But true accountability and democracy depends on the presence of this kind of local scrutiny and journalism not just when the big stories arise, but as a continual presence. I cannot overstate their importance. Please help keep them alive.
Yours,
Gabriel Gatehouse
International Editor, BBC Newsnight (2014-2022)
We also have the respect of our readers, many of whom—but not nearly enough—back their generous praise for our efforts with monthly or one-time gifts.
The bottom line is this: We don’t waste your money. We spend it only on bringing you the news and information you’ve come to expect of The Clayton Crescent.
The editor doesn’t make a fat salary, but a living wage (and health insurance). In three years, we’ve charged two business lunches, strictly working lunches, totaling about $50. (So when you see the editor eating out, you can be assured she’s paying her own tab.)
You see Robin around the county, at the Gold Dome, in county and city meetings, at community events, at police standoffs, in federal and Clayton County courtrooms—at all the places where other local news organizations have gone AWOL.
When others bailed on Clayton County, we took the helm. And we’ve drawn national and international attention for our efforts:
- The Clayton Crescent won praise from local, national, and international outlets, most notably for its coverage of the 2020 elections, from venues including The Washington Post, Bloomberg News, Georgia Public Broadcasting (Georgia Today, Political Rewind), WABE-FM (All Things Considered), NPR’s Weekend Edition, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Leading Britain’s Conversation, LPTV’s The Breakdown, The Journalism Salute, Gaining Ground: The Flip, VoteHER, Mother Jones, and Atlanta Magazine, among others
- With help from the University of Georgia Law First Amendment Clinic, media attorney S. Derek Bauer, and the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, The Clayton Crescent challenged the City of Forest Park when it barred the press and public from attending public meetings in person and successfully negotiated improved (audible and visible) livestreams of those meetings, including a dedicated professional audiovisual installation on behalf of the public
- Robin received the 2021 Media Changemaker Award from Mercer University’s Center for Sustainable Journalism
- Robin has been a guest on Atlanta Press Club panels and Mitch’s Media Musings, two major industry venues in metro Atlanta
- The Clayton Crescent held its first Citizens’ Sunshine Workshop, to coincide with National Sunshine Week, with Robin and Richard teaching a group of local citizens the basics of open records and providing them with curated Clayton-specific resources, including our curated Reading Room
- Robin was asked to join the board of the Atlanta Press Club, where she serves on the First Amendment Committee
- In May 2021, the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) invited The Clayton Crescent to join its growing network (now larger than either NPR or Reuters) and accepted us into NewsMatch, its annual donor matching program
But The Clayton Crescent literally can’t go on without your financial support.
And frankly, we need each of you to help us spread the word to your neighbors. We also need you to encourage them to commit to chipping in.
You can do that right now. Click here: https://findyournews.org/organization/the-clayton-crescent-inc/
Then, please click through to the “Monthly” tab on the popup screen and make your gift in any amount. We suggest $20 but choose the amount that works for you. The reason it’s so important to make a monthly instead of a one-time gift is because it will earn us TWELVE TIMES the match of a single one-time gift. That means your gift of $20 a month—less than $1 a day—becomes $480 when combined with NewsMatch grantmakers.
If you are fortunate enough to be able to make a major gift, please contact our back office manager, Lenora Kopkin, directly at lenora@pro-apg.com for details. The editorial office does not handle major gifts. We are a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit and your gift is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
You also can write a check or money order to The Clayton Crescent, Inc. and mail it to:
The Clayton Crescent
P.O. Box 1865
Jonesboro, GA 30237
Thank you for your support. We are proud to represent the diverse community that is Clayton County and we are proud to hold the powerful accountable to you, the people.
Gratefully,
Robin Kemp
Executive Editor/CEO
The Clayton Crescent
