Thank you co-owners! Together, we will change the news for good.
Dear co-owners,
Today, we’ve made history together. We’ve shown the world that an alternative model for media ownership is possible. We’ve highlighted the demand for a more positive media. But most of all, we’ve exposed the power of people coming together to make things happen.
30 days, 1,525 people, 33 countries, 303 cheques and more than 1,200 online investments led us to a total of £263,422 raised by 6pm GMT this evening. Since meeting our original target of £200,000 on Friday, nearly 400 new co-owners still decided to join. To say that your ongoing backing took us by surprise is an understatement; we’ve been overwhelmed by your kindness and commitment.
You joined from Malaysia to Iceland, from Costa Rica to Greece and from Australia to Ukraine. You bought shares for birthdays, anniversaries, births, and most of all because you wanted to #OwnTheMedia.
Many of you told us that you loved following the comments on our Crowdfunder page and #OwnTheMedia Twitter hashtag throughout the campaign and we couldn’t agree more.
One co-owner declared just before we closed: “I'm saying it loud and proud! Over the moon for Positive News smashing their target. The people have spoken.”
Another said: “There is so much amazing stuff going on in the world right now and it should be reported”, before confessing something about the print subscription they had for years: “Kept in the loo for daily sanity boosts!”
And there were many more: “Thank you for making the world a better place by writing about 'the news', not just 'the bad news'.”
Another wrote: “So happy to be part of what you are doing - I have never bought shares before, I don't have much money, but what you are doing is worth it. Do us proud!”
Share certificate
Our Community Share Offer is now officially closed. Over the coming weeks, we will process all the necessary administration to transition into a co-operative. Once the restructuring process is completed and investments have been processed, all co-owners will receive an official share certificate.
Rewards
For those of you who are due crowdfunding rewards, they will be mostly be sent out in August, with the exception of re-launch party invitations which will be sent out this autumn once a date has been announced. Co-owners who are to receive consultancy sessions and lectures will be contacted individually to arrange dates.
What’s next?
As outlined in our business plan and share offer document, the investment raised will allow us to put our plans into action. We will hire new core team members and give our website and print publication the overhaul they deserve to do justice to our inspiring content. We will innovate without losing sight of our most important work: producing the great constructive journalism you love.
In the meantime…
We have added all co-owners to a newsletter list and we will send you updates during the transition period. Meanwhile, we will of course continue to post positive news stories to our website and you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you hear of anyone who missed out on this opportunity, please direct them to www.ownthemedia.org where they can register their interest in further share offers we may decide to do in the future (more info here).
We would like to end by expressing our sincere gratitude for your investments, your words, your actions, your trust and your belief in our collective mission to change the news for good.
We cannot wait to embark on the next stage of this exciting journey with all 1,525 of you.
Thank you,
The Positive News team
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