The Canadian University Press’s fundraising campaign is underway, but the national campus newspaper co-operative still has a long way to go before it reaches its $50,000 goal.
Last week, CUP launched an indiegogo campaign to raise money to help it through a financial crisis that’s threatening the 76-year-old organization’s continued existence.
CUP President Erin Hudson says the $50,000 target is the amount that CUP needs “to stabilize itself.”
“We’re struggling to stay alive,” Hudson told Story Board in a phone call earlier this week.
Hudson said that CUP is pinning its hopes for survival on alumni and others who are passionate about the future of media.
“Our members are doing what they can, but a lot of them are students, so we need a lot of our support to come from people who care about media, about journalism and about youth getting involved in that,” she said.
The 42-day campaign has raised around $4300 in its first two weeks. Hudson is hopeful that ongoing events and publicity will keep the momentum going.
“Our campaign is pretty long, so in a lot of ways it’s kind of like a marathon, not a sprint,” she said.
Fundraising social nights have been planned by CUP alumni in Toronto and Ottawa. An online photo campaign has seen journalists and former CUP members across the country posting photos of themselves with written messages explaining why they support the organization.
CUP’s financial situation has been growing steadily worse for the past several years. In 2013 the organization’s ad placement agency declared bankruptcy. Ten member papers also pulled out of CUP last year due to high membership fees. The final blow was an audit by the CRA earlier this year which resulted in a $9000 fine for non-compliance with tax laws.
CUP laid off all of its part time staff on March 1st.
Hudson says the $50,000 they hope to raise will buy CUP time by covering their operational costs.
“Right now that is a huge concern, so that puts us into this day-to-day mentality, which is not conducive to thinking of a long term plan,” she said.
“The immediate benefit will be to give us six months to talk to our members, talk among ourselves as the board, and get that plan together.”