Tax time is around the corner and, as we gather together all our papers and forms to file our tax returns, and review our charitable donations, it occurred to us that this is a perfect time to express thanks to our supporters. In this case we mean not just the readers who have been supporting this newspaper for many years by being loyal subscribers (print, online or both), or the credit unions, businesses, organizations and individuals whose paid advertisements help our bottom line. In this space this week, we would like to thank all those who have contributed to The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund. Their support has been substantial through the years and, thankfully, it continues.
A quick look at our year in review issues for the past five years (incidentally, you can access them on our website, www.ukrweekly.com, by clicking on the link in the upper left-hand corner) provides ample proof.
In 2010 we reported that donations to The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund totaled $32,182. In 2011, readers supported our newspaper with $35,718 in press fund donations. For 2012, that sum was $34,529, while in 2013 it was $25,498. In 2014 donations to The Weekly were robust, adding up to $39,445. It should be noted that a large portion of that amount – $12,500 – came at the end of the year in a single donation from one of our strongest supporters: Self Reliance (New York) Federal Credit Union. (A like amount was donated by Self Reliance to our sister publication, Svoboda.) And this year, our faithful readers continue to show their support, which helps ensure that this newspaper, now in its 82nd year, continues to be published.
Each month without fail, we at The Ukrainian Weekly publish a list of donors to The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund. You may not pay much attention to these lists, but we do. These donations, no matter their amounts, make a big difference for a community publication like ours that never was intended to be a profit-making venture. The Weekly, you see, has been published by the Ukrainian National Association as a community service since the paper’s establishment in 1933. The same is true for our sister publication, Svoboda, which has been published since 1893. Still, our publisher’s largesse can only go so far… Subscriptions, advertisements and donations are key.
What is most heartening to us on the receiving end of the donations to our press fund is that we see a lot of familiar names – people who’ve sent in stories and letters, folks who’ve been mentioned in stories published in The Weekly, and, of course, personal acquaintances and colleagues in community activism. Among them are many supporters from the younger generation. That, too, speaks volumes. And, there are repeat donors of larger and smaller amounts. We see all these donations as tangible expressions of appreciation for the work of this community newspaper.
We should point out that there is also another way to sustain The Ukrainian Weekly and help it fulfill its mission of keeping our community informed and in touch, as well as informing others about Ukraine and Ukrainians. Just last year, the UNA established an endowment fund to support its two newspapers by donating $10,000 of seed money. Our benefactors now have an opportunity to secure The Weekly’s and Svoboda’s future by donating to the Publication Endowment Fund via the UNA’s charitable arm, the Ukrainian National Foundation (checks should be payable to the Ukrainian National Foundation, and a notation should indicate Publication Endowment Fund). The interest earned from the endowment’s account will benefit both publications, whose combined years of devoted service to our community now exceed 200.
So, dear readers, thank you again for your donations – and your anticipated further donations – which enable us to continue our work and service to you and our community.