Support our local news laboratory

Yes! You can give to Waterbury Roundabout via check.

We think the online platform to contribute is handy, but we also happily accept old-fashioned checks mailed to Waterbury Roundabout, P.O. Box 626, Waterbury, VT 05676. (Be sure to write them to Vermont Journalism Trust with 'Waterbury Roundabout' on the memo line to make them tax-deductible.)

The Tax ID# for Vermont Journalism Trust is 27-1553931. See VJT's 2022 990 filing with the IRS here. Find more information about Vermont Journalism Trust here.

Policy on Donor Transparency | December 2023

As part of an update to our website where we have added policy language on several important topics (see the Submit/Policies section), we would like to share this message on Donor Transparency.

Waterbury Roundabout’s commitment to transparency includes the funding of our organization. Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants, and sponsorships from individuals, organizations, and foundations to support our operation. Thanks to the Vermont Journalism Trust, our fiscal sponsor and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we may receive funds from foundations and sources that support nonprofits or similar businesses.
Our news decisions are independent and not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. Neither news sources nor financial supporters are allowed to assign, review or edit content that we publish.
We will list all donors who give $5,000 or more per year. We will refrain from accepting anonymous donations and contributions from sources who present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.

A tech move & a favor to ask | June 23, 2024

Bear cub on the move on River Road, Duxbury. Photo by Gordon Miller

For the past two years, we've used the Network for Good platform to manage financial contributions from readers. It has worked well and has been a big help in getting us organized and started on our way with subscriptions and reader support. We would give NFG a five-star rating based on our experience.

But as we approach our annual renewal, we've decided to make a change. We recently looked into an alternative site to manage subscriptions and contributions for news organizations such as Waterbury Roundabout. It has fewer bells and whistles, but it's FREE. By comparison, our Network For Good service costs the equivalent of three freelance story fees each month.

So, we are making a switch. We have made a change in the online platform that we use for online fundraising. The new organization we’re working with is called News Revenue Hub, a nonprofit that works with news outlets of all sizes. Learn more about them at fundjournalism.org and see what other news outlets they serve.

What will the switch mean?

It means that contributors will need to visit the new site to enter their information so that their regular donations may continue. We can download our contact list and donation histories from the current system, but we cannot create new accounts for anyone. We do not see anyone's bank information (other than the last 4 digits of your credit card account), so we cannot transfer any information to keep recurring donations going.

To continue (or start!) supporting Waterbury Roundabout, we ask that you visit the new site and enter your information HERE. It also is connected to the DONATE button on our home page (and to the button at the top of this page) and linked in our weekly email newsletter.

When is this happening?
Our Network For Good service closed on Saturday, June 24. All recurring contributions have STOPPED automatically. If you contribute monthly and your contribution usually happens after June 24, you will not be charged this month. No payments will be charged going forward, either.

The good news is that it's very easy and should take just a couple of minutes to sign back up. We know change can be a hassle, but we welcome this step that will put more of your donations toward supporting local journalism rather than spending money on fees. The new platform that we are switching to did not exist in 2021 when we began online fundraising.

Important note: Online donations will continue to be routed through the Vermont Journalism Trust, our fiscal sponsor and 501c3 nonprofit parent to VtDigger, so your online contributions could be tax-deductible, depending on how you file your taxes.

Thanks for reading and supporting local news and making this move with us!

P.S. Yes! We still accept old-fashioned checks at Waterbury Roundabout, P.O. Box 626, Waterbury, VT 05676. (Write them to Vermont Journalism Trust with 'Waterbury Roundabout' on the memo line to make them tax-deductible.)

UPDATE | December 4, 2022

How to subscribe

Snowy pines on Sweet Road. Photo by Gordon Miller

The button above will take you to our online fundraising page where you can sign up to contribute to Waterbury Roundabout on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, etc.) or to make a one-time contribution. Donations made online go through our fiscal sponsor, the Vermont Journalism Trust (parent nonprofit to VTDigger) and may be tax-deductible depending on how you file your federal income taxes. For its role, Vt. Journalism Trust receives 5% of the donation; the rest goes to Waterbury Roundabout.

Checks are welcome

Those who prefer to write a check are welcome to do so and drop it in the mail to us at Waterbury Roundabout, P.O. Box 626, Waterbury, VT 05676.

For a contribution by check to potentially be tax-deductible, be sure to make it to Vermont Journalism Trust with ‘Waterbury Roundabout’ in the memo section. VJT, our fiscal sponsor, receives 5% of donations and passes the rest to the Roundabout.

A check made directly to Waterbury Roundabout would not be tax-deductible, but would go entirely to the Roundabout.

UPDATE | September 21, 2022

Stop the presses

The Sept. 23 edition of the Waterbury Reader

This week marks the last edition of the Waterbury Reader, our print collaboration with The Times Argus, to produce a weekly free newspaper for the Waterbury community. While we are sad to see the paper end publication, we are very much committed to continuing our mission to cover local news and giving young journalists an opportunity to get firsthand experience at reporting.

Our goal now is to make the updates needed with our website to incorporate sponsor advertising online to help provide the income needed to cover the costs of our operation. We don’t have the overhead of producing a print newspaper, but our small core staff and freelance contributors must be paid.

It will take a combination of advertising, reader contributions, and hopefully some grants to support our work.

How can you help?

If you are a reader, consider chipping in using the button at the top of this page to go to our online fundraising platform. You can make a single contribution or sign up to give monthly. Honestly, $10 or $5 a month going forward would be very helpful. If you itemize your taxes, your gift may be deductible as it goes through our fiscal sponsor, the Vermont Journalism Trust (a 501c3 organization).

You also may write a check. Make it to Vermont Journalism Trust with ‘Waterbury Roundabout’ in the memo section. Mail to P.O. Box 626, Waterbury, VT 05676. VJT is the parent nonprofit to VTDigger. It receives 5% of donations and passes the rest to the Roundabout. A check made directly to Waterbury Roundabout would not be tax-deductible, but would go entirely to the Roundabout.

If you have a business, consider being a Waterbury Roundabout sponsor in our weekly email newsletter This Week in Waterbury and soon on our website. If you are hiring, you can place an employment ad on our Local Jobs page. Contact Digital Editor Julia Bailey Wells at juliabalieywells@gmail.com to learn more.

If you have a connection to a philanthropic organization that would support community journalism, please let us know how we could apply for funding.

Questions? Send an email to waterburyroundabout@gmail.com

And, as always, thank you for reading!

Lisa Scagliotti, editor

UPDATE | December 20, 2021

Writing a check?

Many readers have found our online platform to contribute to Waterbury Roundabout easy to use. We’re especially grateful to those who have signed up to chip in monthly. All online contributions go through our fiscal sponsor, Vermont Journalism Trust (see the August update below), and may be tax deductible. Click the button above to check that out.

If you prefer to contribute with a paper check, that’s great, too. In order for it to potentially be tax-deductible (please check with your tax adviser), it should be made payable to Vermont Journalism Trust, with “For Waterbury Roundabout” on the memo line. Then mail to Waterbury Roundabout, P.O. Box 626, Waterbury, VT 05676. (Tax ID# for Vt. Journalism Trust is 27-1553931)

Checks written simply to Waterbury Roundabout will go entirely to our operation but will not be tax-deductible.

Questions? Shoot us an email at waterburyroundabout@gmail.com

Thank you for your support and for reading!

~ Lisa Scagliotti, editor | Waterbury Roundabout

UPDATE | August 20, 2021

We have a fiscal sponsor

We are thrilled to announce our new fiscal sponsor, Vermont Journalism Trust, the parent nonprofit to VTDigger.org, Vermont’s leading statewide nonprofit online news organization.

By sponsoring Waterbury Roundabout, Vermont Journalism Trust lends its 501(c)3 status to allow for our supporters to make tax-deductible donations and it will enable Waterbury Roundabout to seek grant funding.

In a broader sense, we consider it a show of support for the work we are doing to provide a local source of community news for Waterbury, and for that we are grateful.

In addition, we have partnered with the online platform Network For Good as a fundraising portal and system to track and organize our records of charitable giving. Network For Good will allow for secure online one-time or ongoing contributions and help us with steps such as providing tax receipts for contributors.

If you are a regular reader of WaterburyRoundabout.org and of our stories in the print edition Waterbury Reader produced weekly with The Times-Argus, we ask that you consider a regular contribution to support our ongoing work. No amount is too small.

To those who prefer to mail an old-fashioned paper check, that’s still possible! In order for it to potentially be tax-deductible (please check with your tax adviser), it should be made payable to Vermont Journalism Trust, with “For Waterbury Roundabout” on the memo line. Then mail to Waterbury Roundabout, P.O. Box 626, Waterbury, VT 05676. (Tax ID# for Vt. Journalism Trust is 27-1553931)

In exchange for its sponsorship, Vermont Journalism Trust retains 5% of the contributions it receives. Checks written directly to Waterbury Roundabout and any payments using PayPal go directly to Waterbury Roundabout, but they are not eligible to be claimed as a tax deduction.

If you have any questions, please send an email to waterburyroundabout@gmail.com.

We are looking at all of these steps as ways to make our news laboratory sustainable. We appreciate your support. And, thank you for reading!