No, The Sentinel does not have 501(c)(3) tax status.

Yes. Our fiscal sponsor, Report for America, is a 501(c)3 corporation. Donations can be made through the donate button, located in the upper-righthand side of our web page or via check made out to Report for America, C/O The Keene Sentinel and mailed to The Keene Sentinel 60 West Street Keene, NH 03431

Yes. Checks can be made out to Report for America, C/O The Keene Sentinel and mailed to The Keene Sentinel 60 West Street Keene, NH 03431.

Yes. Our policy for all donations to the Fund reads, in part, as follows: All donations to the fund are restricted to use by the newsroom at the direction of the publisher, president and executive editors.Report for America does not take an administrative fee or a percentage of donations. There are transaction fees that The Sentinel pays our donation platform, Getribbon.org, and those fees for credit card donations are 2.2% plus 30 cents per transaction. Other fees can be seen in the chart and depend on how a donation is made. These fees, too, are paid by The Sentinel.

Yes. While we allow individual donors, at their choosing to remain anonymous, we do disclose any corporate gifts more than $5,000.

The traditional and historical means by which newspapers funded their operations was through print advertising. During the last two decades, that business model has been severely disrupted, mostly by tech giants Google and Facebook, who now garner the lion’s share of all digital advertising. We have come to rely on readers, through subscriptions and donations, for our sustainability.

Our number one source of revenue comes from readers who subscribe in print or online. Revenue from events, digital advertising and niche publications, as a category, is the second-most significant source of income; print advertising in The Sentinel is third. Fundraising to support our journalism is about 4% of our revenue, though we seek to grow that percentage, augmented by national grants and philanthropy.

The Sentinel, because of the priority of its local ownership, maintains a robust staff for a small news operation. Depending on vacancies, our goal is to employ 18 staff journalists (full-time equivalents) Our annual budget for the newsroom is about $1 million.

The Advisory Board consists of between 25-30 members - primarily members of the community. Also on the board are journalists and members of The Sentinel’s executive staff and newsroom. Its role is to interact two to three times a year with Sentinel staff and share observations and ideas about how The Sentinel is meeting its community mission. We also rely on Advisory Board members to recruit other members, to help us raise money and to contribute to the support of local journalism. Terms are typically for three years, but service is flexible and candid commentary on our performance is valued. If you are interested in joining the board, please contact Jack Rooney, managing editor for audience development, at jrooney@keenesentinel.com for more information. Here is the policy that generally governs the Advisory Board:

It is understood that the role as Advisory Board member is purely that – advisory – and that The Keene Sentinel’s newsroom and editorial efforts are independent; suggestions by the Advisory Board may or may not be enacted upon by the Sentinel. Nonetheless, the Advisory Board is seen as a valuable resource to the news-gathering efforts of The Sentinel, lifting opportunities for impactful coverage, suggesting ways in which coverage may be improved and offering ideas on The Sentinel’s continued efforts to be a better public citizen.

Yes. You will be acknowledged on our website by default. If you'd like to remain anonymous, please enable the option: Make this donation anonymous.

Yes. While submitting a donation, please enable the option: Dedicate this donation.

The Keene Sentinel’s news judgments are made independently — not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the authority to assign, review or edit content. Our organization may consider donations to help underwrite the coverage of certain topics, but, as in the case of donations to the Fund that support our news coverage generally, The Sentinel maintains editorial control over the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content. We will make public corporate, foundation and grant-making donors that contribute $5,000 or more and offer the opportunity for individual donors, at their option, to be disclosed and thanked as well. We will not accept donations from government entities, political parties or from any source who, deemed by our publisher, president and editors, presents a conflict of interest with our work or compromises our independence.