Funder and donor guidelines
Investigative reporter Callie Ferguson works on a story. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik
Local news is a vital community resource under financial stress that must be protected. Funders and donors of the Bangor Daily News are helping to sustain a locally accountable information source in service of Maine communities. The following principles and policies guide our work with individual donors and community and institutional funders who support BDN journalism.
Editorial independence
- The Bangor Daily News maintains editorial control over journalism funded by philanthropy. Funders have no input on how the BDN reports stories. Funders are not aware of specific stories BDN journalists are working on and do not review them before publication.
- Funders do not have special access to reporters.
- As a member of the Maine Press Association, the BDN follows the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics.
- We regularly share evidence of the impact of our journalism with the general public.
Gift acceptance
- The BDN’s civic news mission requires the trust of the public.
- Readers know who our funders are. Unless anonymity is proactively requested, donors and funders will be named on our website. This list is updated at minimum annually. We encourage all supporters to be listed by name. When a donor or funder opts to be anonymous, we know who the donor or funder is.
- Gifts made to the BDN are independent of subscriptions and do not confer access to published content.
- The BDN reserves the right to decline funding from any source, at our sole discretion.
- The Bangor Daily News is fiscally sponsored by Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EIN 01-0281875) in recognition of the civic value of local journalism and the BDN mission to the people of Maine.
Any gift to the Bangor Daily News indicates understanding and acceptance of these policies. To learn more, contact Jo Easton, director of development, at jeaston@bangordailynews.com.