Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, advertisers, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.
No donor, grantor, sponsor or advertiser of Santa Cruz Local will have weighted influence on or early access to any journalism we produce. Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains full control of the coverage. Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.
Santa Cruz Local is committed to financial transparency. As of March 31, 2023, we will list donors, grantors, advertisers and sponsors who give $5,000 or more per year. See these donors.
We do not solicit unnamed donations. We want to demonstrate transparency about our funding. We reserve the right to decline or return a donation for any reason.
We avoid accepting charitable donations from local government, political parties, elected officials or candidates seeking public office. We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our board of directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.
If a news story references or quotes any donor, advertiser, grantor or sponsor who contributes $5,000 or more per year, the story will include a disclosure. This disclosure policy applies to publicly-unnamed donors as well. Santa Cruz Local also reserves the right to name people who have donated any amount to our newsroom, if it’s relevant to a story.
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