The562.org has been selected as one of the participating organizations in the Long Beach Gives campaign, which raises money annually on a special day of giving for nonprofit organizations. The 2020 Long Beach Gives campaign will be the first for The 562, which recently began its third year of operation serving the Long Beach community as a nonprofit news outlet.
“We are thrilled to be selected for the 2020 Long Beach Gives campaign,” said The 562 co-founders Mike Guardabascio and JJ Fiddler in a statement. “We are passionate about providing the top-notch local journalism that Long Beach deserves, but we can’t do it without community support. Long Beach Gives provides a strong platform in our fundraising efforts, and we look forward to a successful 2020 campaign.”
This year’s Long Beach Gives Day falls on September 24. That’s when this year’s selected non-profits will call on the Long Beach community to give back what they can in order to assist their organization of choice.
Why The 562?
The 562 provides award-winning local sports coverage and education reporting in the city of Long Beach and operates primarily through reader contributions. The website has seen consistent growth in web traffic, even in the past few months while sporting events have been canceled. In order to sustain that growth and maintain the long-term viability of the organization, fundraising initiatives are essential.
Across the country, trusted local journalism is in peril. According to a recent PEN America study, nearly half of newsroom jobs over the last 15 years have been lost, with nearly 2,000 newspapers going out of business. However, those struggles have not yet resonated with the average American consumer. In a Pew survey from 2019, it was discovered that 71 percent of U.S. adults believe that local news media is doing well financially, while just 14 percent have made direct financial contributions to a local news source.
We believe in keeping The 562’s content free from paywall restrictions, making it available to the entire community regardless of economic status. In order to accomplish that, and to continue providing the city with comprehensive sports coverage, it will require consistent and widespread community support. The 562 is BY Long Beach, FOR Long Beach.
Ways To Help
The best and easiest way to help The 562 is to become a monthly subscriber via our Patreon page. There you will find our organization’s Tax ID, since all donations made to The 562 are completely tax-deductible. If you’d like to make a non-recurring contribution to The 562, you can do so via our PayPal account.
For those looking to make a larger impact on the organization, we have “The 562 100” group, which receives permanent recognition on the website. Membership into The 562 100 requires a substantial donation to the organization; email Tyler@the562.org for more information on how to get involved as a member of The 562 100.
If you’re looking to contribute to our Long Beach Gives efforts, you may sign up to receive additional information from Long Beach Gives by joining their mailing list. As the event draws closer, we will be seeking out peer fundraisers to help fundraise for The 562. Peer fundraisers are members of the community who raise funds on behalf of the causes they care about. They create custom fundraising pages on the Long Beach Gives website and share their personal fundraising appeal to their network of friends and family.
For those interested in becoming a peer fundraiser for the The 562, or if you would like to pledge matching funds for the Long Beach Gives fundraiser, please email Tyler@the562.org.
