We're Begging So Our Vendors Don't Have To!

Please Support The Contributor this Holiday Season

We're two years old and growing stronger every day.
We need your financial help to continue growing.

Our Story.

Two years ago, The Contributor was launched from a sidewalk bench by volunteers providing newspapers to homeless and formerly homeless vendors. This month, with the help of The Fugitive Foundation, we are launching a campaign to hire part-time staff. Please donate this holiday season to keep The Contributor in circulation.

The past two years have seen tremendous growth. We were launched with a dream and no office space on November 20th, 2007. In July of 2008 we were generously given a free office in The Downtown Presbyterian Church. And, in November of 2009, we broke our own record by printing 10,000 copies of the December issue.

Our goal is to raise $10,000 before the end of the year. To help us reach this goal, The Fugitive Foundation has signed on to match your donations. Every dollar raised from this point on will be matched until we reach our goal - so your donations count twice as much!

For two action-packed years, volunteer staff have recruited and trained homeless vendors and writers, edited vendor writing, and laid out and published each issue of The Contributor. Our staff work seven days a week and our work has been fruitful.

Our Vendors.

From day one, the paper has been written by a mix of homeless, formerly homeless and non-homeless journalists, photographers, artists and poets. Our homeless and formerly homeless vendors have carried our paper far and wide, from Broadway to Brentwood, TN. Many of them have formed supportive relationships with their customers.

Vendor Michael Labrie says about his experience selling The Contributor, "I started making friends and looking forward to seeing them. Many passersby also stop to chat and I now know several of them by name. I have started to see an unexpected but blessed trend towards caring. I am given gifts, food, and tips. I truly believe I've witnessed the heart and soul of Nashville, the inherent goodness of a caring community. I feel not only blessed, but lucky-very lucky." Michael may still be homeless, but we have great faith that he is close to joining more than a dozen who have achieved housing since beginning to sell The Contributor.

· Our first edition in Winter of 2007 sold only a few hundred copies over 6 weeks. We have increased circulation every month since then and our current print run stands at 10,000 copies per month. We have even sold out of the past seven issues!

· Our vendors have individually sold up to 800 papers a month.

· At this pace, we will have distributed 50,000 papers in 2009.

· Our vendors average $2.00 per sale including tips.

· This year alone we will have put $100,000 into the pockets of our vendors.

That is $100,000 less that the government needs to spend and $100,000 other charities don't need to spend. You, readers, are making it easier on other charities and government organizations who work with disenfranchised Tennesseans, simply by purchasing this paper each month.

Please Help.

Hiring staff makes us a sustainable venture, a venture that has been proven to fulfill our mission in Nashville, TN: to provide a diversity of perspectives on homelessness and provide a source of income for homeless and formerly homeless individuals while creating community between vendors and customers. We do this with each issue. We have grown far beyond our capacity to sustain this level of output without part-time paid staff. You know us; you've read The Contributor; and now we need your support.

PLEASE GIVE! The Fugitive Foundation will match your gift until we reach our goal of $10,000.00. Your donations of $20, $50, $100, $500, or $1,000 will double in value, and help us break down barriers for homeless and formerly homeless persons by giving them a voice and a valid income.

The North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA, a 501(c)3 tax-deductible organization) has agreed to be the fiscal sponsor for The Contributor as we enter into the final stages of applying for our own 501(c)3 status. This agreement allows us to immediately begin accepting tax-deductible donations.

Please send checks to:
The Contributor
P.O. Box 332023
Nashville, Tennessee 37203

Make your tax-deductible check payable to "NASNA" with "The Contributor" in the "For" blank.

If you wish to donate electronically, please click on the PayPal button on this site.

Thank you so much for your continued support,
Tasha French, Tom Wills, Andrew Krinks, Ray Ponce de Leon, Mark Lemley and Jeannie Alexander



P.S. PLEASE GIVE! The Fugitive Foundation will match your gift until we reach our goal of $10,000.00. Your donations of $20, $50, $100, $500, or $1,000 will double in value, and help us break down barriers for homeless and formerly homeless persons by giving them a voice and a valid income.