The Cavalier Daily’s financial situation has reached a critical point, and its survival may depend on your support. We write to explain the situation and to ask that you do all you can, as soon as you can, to help.
Pledge $100 for student journalism
As advertising revenues declined over the past several years, the paper fell behind on its rent payments to the University administration. Starting last November, the Cav Daily was able to resume timely rent payments. Despite this, University administrators say the debt justifies removing the paper from its office space. They say the only option for an alternate space on Grounds is a storage room that is a mere 16 percent of the paper’s current space.
The size of the new office would be 380 square feet. It can accommodate only about one-tenth of the paper’s staff. In the opinion of its Managing Board and the Cavalier Daily Alumni Association, the change poses a severe threat to the future of the Cav Daily. Not only would the change render normal operations impossible, it would also choke off the sense of community that makes working at the Cav Daily such a fulfilling experience. Recruitment, collaboration, and retention of staff will suffer.
Administrators have said they will consider keeping the paper in its current space only if it can pay its past debts. We may have fewer than 10 days to accomplish this. We need to raise about $55,000. We’ve already gathered $15,000. An anonymous donor has offered to match the next $20,000. If 200 former staff members each pledge $100, we’ll make it.
Right now, we do not need cash — just pledges, which we will redeem only as part of a larger deal with the administration that preserves the paper’s long-term viability. To make a pledge, please click the button above and fill out the form.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact mcc5cf@virginia.edu.
The Cavalier Daily has a bright future ahead of it. As we speak, staffers are hard at work implementing a truly digital-first newsroom. This semester, staff plans to tackle major media challenges by redesigning the website, pouring new resources into infographics, retooling the print edition, exploring native advertising, introducing talks about media ethics and training members in multi-platform reporting. The Cavalier Daily remains a robust media organization 125 years after its founding, but it needs a newsroom. And for that, it needs you.