I love using quotes as inspiration. While I was looking for one to launch this Voices piece I came across a thought by Anita Roddick, the British entrepreneur who founded the Body Shop and believed business can be a force for good and empowerment.
“If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.”
Bucket List Community Cafe is small, but we are growing and having a significant impact. Like the mosquito, we’ve been in your ear for a while now sharing what we’ve accomplished with your support. Here is the 2023 buzz.
We have continued to amplify our mission to be free online community journalism for Denver. We provide hyperlocal neighborly news that builds community by sharing our stories.
We have almost twice the number of unique visitors to our website than we had last year.
We have covered over 160 stories and we’re translating some into Spanish. We also are producing monthly podcasts that are featured on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Our storytelling includes all voices and ensures our neighbors see themselves in the news. Folks tell us they can’t find character-driven stories like ours anywhere else.
We have mentored over 30 aspiring journalists from CU Boulder and MSU Denver, giving them experience in the real world of news and news entrepreneurship. We have celebrated them as they move on to jobs in broadcast news, production, community journalism, events, advertising and business in Colorado, Texas and New York.
We put together an advisory team of six exceptional leaders in local and national journalism, DEI, media partnerships, and program management.
We have met you at community events like Viva Streets, Sunnyside Music Festival, Huerta Urbana Farmers Market, Convivio Café’s Mercaditos, and Tenn Street Coffee and Books. We give away free refrigerator magnets, and kids love showing off our stickers.
We received $25,000 in grants from LION Publishers and Colorado Media Project this year to help with our sustainability.
We received an additional $5,000 grant from Colorado Media Project to set up the Darrell Ewalt Scholarship Fund so aspiring BIPOC journalists can prioritize their work and have more opportunities. Thanks to CMP, we gave out three $1,500 scholarships in 2023.
Now we are proud to say that we are part of a cohort of 30 trustworthy and local Colorado newsrooms throughout the state that are asking for your support in our #newsCOneeds fundraising drive. It starts Nov. 28 and runs through Dec. 31.
We have received a $5,000 matching grant from Colorado Media Project to incentivize giving. Our friend and advisor, Kathy Neustadt, has added a challenge match for $2,000. Another friend and advisor, Gary Shapiro, is helping us lead the charge for recurring contributions in our partner program. Phil and Angela Garvin have seeded the Darrell Ewalt Scholarship Fund for the year ahead. During our #newsCOneeds fundraising campaign, our goal is to raise $7,500 up from $5,000 in July.
So that’s the buzz, Bucket Listers. We’ll try not to be pesky, but between now and the end of the year our team will be reminding you how community journalism takes a community. When we kick off our #newsCOneeds campaign on Tuesday, Nov. 28 (Giving Newsday) please contribute generously. We are community-inspired and supported and can’t do this without you.
