The Asheville Blade marks our tenth year with a summer subscriber drive so we can bring y’all more hard-hitting journalism and sharp perspectives. Plus: Gentry Tears mugs
Above: Asheville Blade subscriber rewards including a ‘thank you’ letter, a bumper sticker and a ‘Gentry Tears’ mug
Readers, as many of you know the Blade just marked our tenth anniversary. As we move into our second decade, we’re proud of what we’ve done and want to bring even more — more journalism, more in-depth reporting, more voices — to the people of our city.
We do a lot with our current level of support and are thankful for every single subscriber and donor, but it has some very real limitations. The past few months have thrown that into sharp relief, as multiple major issues have hit our town all at once. We’ve done excellent reporting on many, from the threat posed by the dystopian “Business Improvement District” to the mayor violating the First Amendment to shut out pro-Palestinian voices to the realtor dark money backing a city council candidate. But it’s also proven a serious struggle with the resources we currently have available.
So we’re launching a drive to get more subscribers to back us on Patreon, which you can do by signing up here. For as little as $3 a month you can support local journalism and get some lovely perks. We’ve also just launched a new $15 a month tier that gets a lovely Gentry Tears mug, handy for holding one’s beverage of choice as well as making clear your defiance to the gentrification currently threatening our communities. For ten years the elites here have shouted at us to stop using the word “gentry” so we’re putting it front and center.
Importantly you’ll also help us keep the lights on and expand what we do. If you’re already a subscriber (thank you!) you can also upgrade your subscription to the new tier and get that reward.
We don’t run ads or have corporate backers. We rely on the support of our readers and locals all across this area to keep going. The goal for this summer drive is $100 in additional subscriptions, which would be a huge help on multiple fronts.
Just want to make a one-time donation and still get the mug? Give $20 or more to us here and we’ll send one over to your address when rewards go out later this month.
Thank you all for your support of our journalism co-operative. We hope this is a good start to another ten years of cutting to the point.
Solidarity,
The Asheville Blade Co-op
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The Asheville Blade is entirely funded by our readers. If you like what we do, donate directly to us on Patreon or make a one-time gift to support our work. Questions? Comments? Email us.