The Portland Beacon needs your help to survive

When I started The Portland Beacon back in August 2017, I never expected to get rich.  It was a labor of love, and it was an effort to at least partially fill the local news void that has developed in the community over the last two decades.  Since then, the Beacon has posted more than 4,500 pieces of local news and information. 

Eight years later, I still do not expect to get rich from The Portland Beacon, but sadly… I often wonder if I will even be able to keep it running.  While I do my best to operate as efficiently as I can, the costs of nearly everything has increased, and there is no sign of that changing any time soon.  At times I do not even have enough money to pay our amazing contributing writers for content in a given month. 

Local news is still important to communities like Portland.  Local news helps build community engagement.  It educates citizens and helps preserve culture.  It helps us all stay connected with what is happening in our community. 

Today I am asking you to please consider supporting the Portland Beacon and our mission “to brief the residents of Portland, Michigan, about the current affairs of this community, by serving as a fair, accurate and transparent information source.”  Without your support, the days of The Portland Beacon may be limited. 

As a reader, your clicks, likes, shares and comments really do help.  Our social media platforms use reader engagement to drive who else sees those posts.

We are always looking for new local advertisers.  We offer affordable options for even the smallest businesses and your sponsorship supports local journalism right here in the community.

Subscribing to our daily or weekly email newsletters also gives us data to show perspective advertisers how many local residents value the content of The Beacon. You can subscribe for either at https://www.theportlandbeacon.com/subscribe.

If you as a reader are interested in contributing funds to help us cover our costs, that would be greatly appreciated.  You can get more information on how to do so by check or by PayPal at https://www.theportlandbeacon.com/contribute. 

If you have any interest in writing about our great community, I am always looking for volunteer contributors.  Please email me at jim@theportlandbeacon.com to learn more about what this would entail. 

I thank you all for reading The Beacon, and appreciate you considering supporting local news in one of the ways listed above.