How The 19th relied on memberships and funding to launch during a pandemic

August 05, 2020

By Kayleigh Barber

For most, launching a new publication at a time when the media industry not only has the operational challenges from the coronavirus crisis, but also the economic challenges of a recession would seem like a scary leap.

But for new non-profit publication, The 19th, its mission — providing women and people of color with the information and resources they need to be equal participants in the United States democracy — was too important to put on hold in the lead up to the presidential election in November.

A non-profit organization, The 19th — named after the 19th Amendment which gave some U.S. women the right to vote — is monetarily supported by a mix of membership, donations and corporate underwriting, meaning it’s free from the worry of chasing advertising dollars for survival.

It still isn’t exactly a cake walk. “Corporate underwriting is anticipated to be a cornerstone of our revenue model,” said Emily Ramshaw, The 19th’s CEO and co-founder. “Obviously, the COVID pandemic and resulting economic recession has led to a depression in the corporate market; we’re hoping it rebounds in short order,” she wrote in an email.

Membership and individual donations, therefore, have become a significant piece of the puzzle.

Publisher and co-founder Amanda Zamora said that she and Ramshaw spent the better part of 2019 developing the business model and product plan as well as how to grow and audience and sustain it and by the end of the year, they both felt they had enough validation, financial support and a strong enough business strategy to take the leap and leave their jobs at the Texas Tribune.

“We believed we needed $2 million in the bank to leave our jobs, and $4 million to make a serious go at launch,” said Ramshaw.

The 19th soft launched at the end of January, which made it easier for the founders to start hiring a staff — they brought on 22 people—and begin courting investments.

The plan was to fully launch The 19th at the start of August— it launched August 2—but once the coronavirus hit, there was uncertainty with that timeline if corporations couldn’t back the launch as much as they initially planned.

To keep on schedule, goals shifted and fundraising had to be kicked into high gear, Zamora said. The in-person summit it was planning to hold as part of its launch and in centennial celebration of the ratification of the 19th Amendment was turned into a five-day-long virtual event that will kick off next week and is sponsored by Goldman Sachs and Intuit.

Since the soft launch the publication received more than 1,000 founding member contributions, which ranged between $5 and $1,000. Within the first two days of the hard launch, Zamora said that number increased by 800. According to the site, as of June 30, it had 174 patrons, who had donated $1,000 or above.

“We think about membership not just as a revenue program but as an audience program,” said Zamora. “We want to hear their stories …read more

Source:: Digiday

      

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