You might already know that the Bangor Daily News has served Maine communities with local news and information for 133 years. But did you know that when you support the BDN, you join more than 1,200 donors who have protected 150 Maine jobs? You protect your right to community news and information. You ensure your neighbors, family and coworkers have the local, factual information they need to make informed decisions.
Today is Giving Tuesday, and the start of our year-end sustainability campaign. We need your help to raise $25,000 in donations today — and $75,000 in funds by Dec. 31 — to help sustain independent local journalism in Maine.
Make a donation to sustain reporting resources at the Bangor Daily News.
It bears mentioning that the Bangor Daily News is not a nonprofit. We participate in Giving Tuesday because community support from readers like you helps power independent, civic-driven newsrooms like the BDN. We couldn’t do this without the community of subscribers and donors who value local reporting that has real impact in people’s lives.
Impact like this:
- One week after Erin Rhoda and Jessica Piper reported on a Maine surgeon’s career advancement despite repeated complaints following a months-long investigation, the surgeon stepped down from leadership positions.
- After Judy Harrison reported about the housing dilemma of two teen sisters after their parents’ deaths, a community member raising funds to provide new housing for the sisters was inundated with offers of help for the Robinsons. By May, the girls had a new home.
- Reporter Sawyer Loftus, winner of this year’s Maine Press Association’s top honor for young reporters, unraveled the business empire of Nathan Reardon, which includes dozens of companies, a trail of debt to nearly 100 former employees and $100,000 in fines for labor violations. Reardon pleaded guilty in July to defrauding the federal Paycheck Protection Program. Loftus’ reporting also exposed that Reardon sought federal rent relief funds as a landlord when his bail conditions prohibited him from doing so. Reardon was arrested on a bail violation the day after that report.
- Loftus’s reporting on an ethics violation by the chair of a University of Maine at Augusta presidential search committee and a no-confidence vote at the prior employer of Michael Laliberte, who had been hired to lead UMA, was instrumental in prompting votes of no confidence against University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy and Laliberte’s withdrawal from the UMA presidency.
- Policy changes spurred by our Maine Focus investigation into sexual misconduct in the Maine Army National Guard continued this year, with Gov. Janet Mills establishing a permanent Advisory Council on Military Sexual Trauma in March. The council is tasked with improving the Maine National Guard’s response to sexual assault and harassment and ensuring survivors have access to support. The governor also signed a bill in April to investigate sexual abuse allegations within the Maine National Guard and expand oversight of the organization.
When you invest in the Bangor Daily News, you invest in all Maine residents who need fact-based local information to make informed decisions.
Thank you for your consideration. If you have questions about this effort, please reach out to me at [email protected].
The Bangor Daily News is not a 501(c)(3) organization, and so your donation is not tax deductible. No services or products will be rendered to you in exchange for your donation.
