I am very excited to introduce our new Patreon account.

By Michael Durand

Patreon is like GoFundMe, but instead of donating one lump sum, patrons contribute a small amount every month to a creative cause.

Patreon is used by artists, photographers, musicians and all types of creators to raise funds to keep the creativity flowing. An artist with generous patrons can work on their craft and fill the world with beauty, instead of working at a less-creative endeavor to help make ends meet.

When we put the word out last year that the ad-only model for local newspapers was barely working to pay the bills, we received many generous supporters who donated to our “Nourish Your Neighborhood Newspaper” campaign. THANK YOU ALL! We will be forever grateful for the outpouring of support.

We were especially touched by the notes we received telling us how much our newspaper is loved. So many readers said they look forward to getting the paper each month.

“I read every word of every issue, and have for many years,” was just one of many heartfelt notes we received. Support like that truly keeps us going.

The money we received was put right back into the papers. For a while, the Richmond Review was 12 pages. Most of the issues over the last few years have been 16 pages. We also ran a few 20-page issues. We even produced a 24-page paper, all thanks to our supporters.

There are a lot of stories to tell, and a lot of good writers, photographers and editors who work together to let our readers know about our great neighborhood.

We hope you will consider signing up on our Patreon account to donate $5, $10 or more a month to help us continue this important work.

We thank you most sincerely. You really do inspire the work we do.

Your donation also helps us keep our advertising rates low. It is a struggle for owners to keep their small businesses afloat, and your donation will help us keep our rates reaonable to spread the word about services available to our community.

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=85957394

I can’t thank our supporters enough. We sincerely appreciate you.

Michael Durand is the editor and publisher of the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers and the RichmondSunsetNews.com website. He can be reached at Editor@RichmondSunsetNews.com.