Dear readers,

Our world is in crisis. In these moments, reliable, accurate news is more essential than ever.

The Daily Orange is proud to be the only nonprofit news outlet reporting on the Syracuse University community amid the coronavirus pandemic. Our reporters, scattered across the country, are working to keep you informed with critical information as this story unfolds.

But we can’t do this work without your help.

Today, we’re asking you to donate to support our mission of providing the latest news and resources for our community. Beginning with #GivingTuesdayNow, we’re aiming to raise $10,000 by the end of May.

Your money will go directly toward supporting the students who have covered how online classes disadvantage students with disabilities. How international students navigated travel restrictions to head home. How athletes must weigh the heavy decision to return and play again, or move on from the sports they love. And how seniors are facing an uncertain job market after their virtual commencement. 

The D.O. doesn’t charge for news, and it doesn’t intend to. But free journalism comes at a cost. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that’s editorially and financially independent from SU, The D.O. relies on advertising revenue and donations from readers like you to keep us going.

This is a dire time for local news organizations, including The D.O. As local businesses struggle to make ends meet right now, so do we.

If you donate today, your gift will:

• Ensure student journalists get paid for their work. Today’s D.O. reporters are tomorrow’s professional journalists. We want to make sure we can provide stipends to help make up for canceled internships and a difficult job market.
• Bolster our website infrastructure. We know you can’t read our news if you can’t access it. We’re ramping up the work behind-the-scenes to make sure your experience on our website is top-notch and we get our free news in front of more people.
• Offset unexpected print advertising losses. The D.O. canceled print publication when SU announced the closure of campus. Many of our generous advertisers have moved online, but we still need to make up the difference.

Just $20 would pay for a month’s worth of access to design programs for our visual journalists. For $100, you could pay a month’s Slack subscription for our entire staff. A gift of $260 will pay for a week’s salary for our entire News department.

The D.O. has served as the first draft of SU’s history for 117 years. We are now faced with difficult decisions about the organization’s future. With your support, cutting staff salaries and another day of print are choices we won’t have to make.

Other ways you can support our work

• Have a story idea? Email us at editor@dailyorange.com.
• Want to write a letter to the editor or guest column? Here’s how.
• Keep reading. Stay updated with our COVID-19 coverage here.

Casey Darnell (’21) is the editor-in-chief and Emma Folts (’22) is the managing editor of The Daily Orange. 

Published on May 20, 2020 at 4:00 am

Contact Emma: esfolts@syr.edu