Communities like the Estes Valley need local, boots-on-the-ground news to thrive. Research shows that people need relevant, trustworthy, independent local news to stay safe and healthy, to be engaged in their communities, to hold government accountable, and to create change on issues they care about.

In communities without a reliable source of local news, fewer people vote or run for office, political polarization increases, elected officials are less accountable, and the local economy can suffer.

In April, only 43% of the Estes Park electorate participated in the town election. Civic engagement is correlated with a robust local media that reports on government and community businesses.

One in five Colorado newsrooms have closed since 2004, many are on the brink, and many printed newspapers are a ghost of what they once were.

The number of professional reporters covering information needs of Coloradans across all media formats declined by nearly 44% between 2010 and 2018 — from 1,010 to just 570 reporters statewide — while Colorado’s population grew by more than 600,000 people.

Twenty years ago, local advertising sustained local news. Today, big tech companies gobble up to 85% of local digital ad revenue and send it out of town.

The Estes Valley Voice is a response to the need for an independent, locally owned, and journalist-led source of news.

We have been invited by the Colorado Media Project and Colorado News Collaborative —known as COLab — to participate in the 2024 Colorado Gives campaign for a $5,000 dollar-for-dollar match through Dec. 31.

Since 2018, the #newsCOneeds Year-End Giving Challenge has helped local Colorado news outlets increase public awareness and grassroots support from individuals for the important public service that journalism provides to a community. 

The Estes Valley Voice can raise $5,000 and receive $10,000 to support our newsroom and our journalists.

By becoming a subscriber, a sponsor, an advertiser, and by donating through this year’s Colorado Gives campaign, you can help our journalists report on important Estes Valley issues – our taxing districts, business, education, people, the environment, health, housing, local development, the arts, and events.

Your donation will help support long-term sustainability of local public-service journalism.

Thank you.