Recently, the Los Angeles Times began charging people to view their articles online if the reader wants to read more than one article every two days. Through their subscription program, you also gain access to all of their online archives and can view as many articles on the blogsites, various sections of the paper and all of the comics that you want. All of that for just under $16 a month.
In that spirit, we are announcing a new way to support Los Angeles Streetsblog. By going to our "donate page," selecting "Los Angeles" for where you want to direct your donation and making your donation a "monthly recurring" donation, you can become one of the first "Subscribes" to Los Angeles Streetsblog. Of course, anything that we've published is available to anyone who wishes to access it free of charge, but we have other perks (some listed at the end of this article) for people that choose to subscribe. Having a regular monthly revenue stream helps us do our long-range planning. Our goal of this subscription drive is to match a pledged donation from Amanda Lipsey to create a new $170 monthly ($2,000 a year) revenue stream for Streetsblog.
You may know Lipsey as "Danceralamode" on twitter, blogger or various websites where she commented over the years before she moved to Montana to raise money for Adventure Cycling. Lipsey explains why, even though she moved, she is investing in Streetsblog:
When I was a cyclist in L.A., one of my favorite resources was L.A. Streetsblog. I decided to become a monthly donor because I really believed in L.A. Streetsblog's mission. When I lived in L.A., I became a bike advocate, showing up at lots of meetings and making my voice heard. After I moved out of L.A., I still wanted to continue advocating for better conditions for cycling there, and I felt like the best way to do this was by becoming a monthly donor to L.A. Streetsblog. Making small monthly donations is very fulfilling. I don't make much money, but I know that my monthly donations add up to some significant change by year-end, and can have a big impact on the work Damien and his team are able to do and the issues they are able to cover. I have been excited to see new bureaus open within L.A. Streetsblog, and I'm glad that my monthly donations have helped to do it.
Thanks, Amanda! If you choose to Subscribe to Streetsblog, we do have ways to thank you:
- Every monthly donor, even if they give just $1 a month, will receive free raffle tickets for any raffle we hold.
- If you give more than $10 a month, you will also get your choice of a Streetsblog t-shirt, a Streetsblog shoulder bag, or any other Streetsblog themed items we may come up with. $20 a month gets you two of them.
- For $25 a month, you will receive a laminated "fundraiser pass" that will allow you free entrance to any of our events for as long as you remain a subscriber.
- At the $50 a month level, you will receive all of the aforementioned gifts and will automatically be sent any new items that we offer for sale.
- Anyone willing to give a $100 dollar a month donation will receive all of the aforementioned gifts receive a chance to chat with myself and at least one member of our writing team and editorial board at the bar or coffee house of your choice.
- Last, for anyone willing to donate $200 a month will receive all of the aforementioned gifts and I will cook them dinner. My place or yours. Let me know.
L.A. Streetsblog only exists because of the generosity of our readers and your refusal to let us close in lean times. Now that we're expanding, new costs keep popping up. To help us stay strong and continue to grow, please consider becoming a "subscriber" today.
