6p a week for 6 years of The Post

Six years ago, the very first iteration of the Post was underway, with 12-pages worth of content having been received and being edited, checked, and checked again before being sent to our designer to help figure out how we wanted The Post to look.

Funding had been secured to cover the cost of printing 3,000 copies of Heatons Post and to pay our designer for that first issue which launched in February 2020.

At that point in time, we knew there was a need in the Heatons and Reddish area of Stockport for a printed, community newspaper that focused on positive news and important information that residents could access for free. But we had no way of knowing if we could continue to fund Heatons Post beyond that first issue, nor could we have known how much of a need there was for such a publication across all communities.

Since that initial issue was launched, Heatons Post became Stockport Post to serve all communities across Stockport, and a Post publication was launched for Manchester, Trafford, Salford and Cheshire East to support as many residents, community organisations, local services and businesses as possible across surrounding boroughs.

While the number of residents who read The Post each month increases year on year, and while the number of local organisations The Post provides a free platform to for them to  share their news and information with the wider community continues to grow, the one constant has been the struggle to fund the cost of running the Post month after month, year after year.

The Post is free to readers - whether read in print or online - and that is an important aspect of The Post being able to achieve one of its aims as a not-for-profit publication - removing financial or technological barriers to residents being able to access local news.

But as a fully independent, not-for-profit, The Post is not financially supported by any external organisation. 

Revenue is generated by advertising/paid content campaigns - an aspect of The Post continually being worked on, especially as one main aim is to increase distribution of The Post across each borough.

And every now and then, funds are received from a funding organisation following a lengthy and competitive application process. But those funds, while much needed and welcomed gratefully, are few and far between. And when they are received, they often cover no more than half of what needs to be generated in one month to be able to produce The Post in print at a minimum volume. 

This is where we are asking readers who are in a position to be able to help to support us with a regular donation. The Post supports so many people from all walks of life. That may be a reader discovering a group they didn’t know existed but that would help them get out and meet new people. Or helping a reader get creative or gain confidence by writing a poem or taking a photograph which then gets published in The Post. Or a reader learning more about a health initiative that may prove to be beneficial. Or even just a reader who enjoys holding a newspaper and sitting down with a hot drink to read all that is happening in their local and neighbouring community.

So could you help all of this work and support to continue and grow by setting aside just 6p per week to then donate a total of £3.12 per year?

All donations are greatly appreciated and can be made here.