Four and a half years ago, Boulder Reporting Lab launched with a clear goal: to build a nonprofit local newsroom for Boulder that understands this community, reports on issues of real consequence and can withstand the challenges that have plagued local news.
Today, tens of thousands of people rely on BRL to understand what’s happening here, from city government and local elections to wildfires and the forces shaping this community.
But making it this far was never the goal. The goal is something bigger: As long as Boulder exists, there should be a Boulder Reporting Lab.
Boulder is a place that invests in the institutions that define it, from CU Boulder to its arts and cultural organizations. These are things we expect to be here, year after year, because they matter to the life of this community. Local journalism should be no different. It plays a quiet but essential role in helping people understand what’s happening, stay connected to one another and participate in civic life.
Right now, though, there is no guarantee of that. Across the country, local newsrooms are shrinking or disappearing altogether. That is the reality of this industry, and it means that whether Boulder has a strong, independent newsroom in the future is not something we can take for granted.
What we’re building with Boulder Reporting Lab is more than a website or a newsletter. It is part of the community’s infrastructure. It helps people make sense of change, follow decisions that affect their lives and stay connected to the place they live. Boulder would not be the same without it.
This is the idea behind the Forever Newsroom campaign. It is not a short-term fundraising push, but a long-term effort to make this newsroom a permanent part of Boulder, supported by the people who rely on it.
This work already exists because readers support it, and we are deeply grateful for every gift, whether given once or over time. That support has made everything we have built possible. Now, we are also focused on building a base of monthly support we can count on, so this newsroom can grow with confidence and continue expanding the reporting this community depends on.
Our goal is 1,000 monthly supporters this year. We are already more than halfway there.
If this work matters to you, this is your chance to help make it last. Help keep Boulder’s newsroom here, forever.