What Is a Vanguard Subscription and Why Should You Become a Subscriber?

Had a good day at Farmer’s Market on Saturday, where we signed up one new subscriber and three others indicated interest in signing up as well.  But there were a lot of questions as to what a subscriber was and how it benefits the reader and the Vanguard.

So I have developed this to help readers to decide:

What is a subscription? 

• We have set up a system whereby anyone who signs up to donate $10 or more on a recurring basis becomes what we call a subscriber.

What does someone get for subscribing? 

• All subscribers will be signed up for our premium newsletter. Each morning the Vanguard sends out a newsletter and the premium newsletter contains a premium or bonus commentary each day that is not available on the website.

What is the benefit to the Vanguard of getting subscribers?

• The Vanguard has ongoing expenses – office costs, computer and infrastructure costs, and employee costs. By donating a certain amount each month, the Vanguard knows how much of its ongoing budget is accounted for and how much additional money it needs to raise in order to pay the bills.

Why should I subscribe?

• You are supporting the hard hitting and independent journalism of the Vanguard.
• The Vanguard covers local news in ways not covered by other entities. We have in-depth analysis, insightful commentary, and engaged community conversations.
• We have a unique court watch project with an internship program that trains and mentors the next generation of independent journalists.
• Our court watch program covers court cases that no one else is covering, exposing problems within the system
• The future of the free press is in question with attacks on it from up high and resource problems that have lead many major papers to have to drastically cut staff.
• By creating a broad base of subscribers, the Vanguard is accountable to the reader and the average citizens rather than large moneyed interests.

Want to know more about what we do?

Watch our promotional video

How do I sign up?

1. The easiest way to sign up is through the form below. Simply take out your credit card and put it down.  It is safe and secure.  And you will be billed automatically on a monthly basis.
2. You can have your bank automatically send the Vanguard a check each month. Have then send it to: Davis Vanguard, PO Box 4715, Davis, CA 95617
3. People ask is they can subscribe with an annual payment. The answer is yes, but with a caveat.  The caveat is we prefer a monthly subscription because that is how we know how much money we get each month.  However, many people want to simply write one check and be done with it, so you can send it to: Davis Vanguard, PO Box 4715, Davis, CA 95617 and we will remind you next year to do the same.

It is important that we get more subscriptions so that we do not have to focus so much on fundraising on a year-round basis.  Every subscription we get means more time spent on reporting, and less time spent on fundraising.  We need about 100 more subscribers to get to fiscal sustainability.  $10 a month is a small price to ensure ongoing and independent news from the Vanguard.