MercerMe’s first full-scale membership campaign set out with a bold goal: 100 new supporters in 10 days. In the end, Hopewell Valley readers — and neighbors beyond — delivered more than 90 acts of support, including monthly and yearly commitments and one-time gifts.
It was MercerMe’s most concentrated reader-supported fundraising effort to date, and a meaningful milestone for the independent local newsroom.
“This community response sends a powerful message: local news matters and our readers are backing it with action,” said publisher and founder, Mary Galioto.
Readers shared why they support MercerMe’s mission:
“I had a conversation with someone recently and was able to answer all her questions about local issues,” said Joann Held, a longtime Pennington resident and community volunteer. “She asked how I knew all these things. My reply: Because I read MercerMe!”
“I was for many years an avid supporter of print journalism—even delivering the afternoon newspaper as a youth to earn spending money,” said Dan Pace. “But just as newspaper carriers on bicycles disappeared, print journalism too is disappearing, replaced by questionable online ‘news.’ So, I support MercerMe as my local news source because of its truthful, excellent, and thoughtful reporting. Keep up the good work, Mary and all!”
These acts of support help sustain the reporting MercerMe delivers each week — covering schools, town meetings, development, the environment, local arts, and the small-but-essential stories that bring the community together.
What’s next for MercerMe
This campaign helped lay the groundwork for what comes next:
- Editorial growth. In the spring, MercerMe hired its first full-time editor, Seth Siditsky. Support from this campaign helps sustain and expand that coverage.
- Community access. A summer intern from The College of New Jersey, funded by a grant from the NJ Civic Information Consortium, is helping improve community listening and reporting.
- Sustainability. With this momentum, MercerMe is continuing to invest in long-term sustainability, including improvements to supporter onboarding, engagement, and newsroom operations.
MercerMe’s mission remains the same: to keep people informed, connected, and engaged through reliable, independent local journalism. That work is only possible through community support.
“This campaign showed just how much people care about having reliable, local reporting,” said Seth Siditsky, MercerMe’s editor. “That support helps us dig deeper, respond faster, and cover the issues that matter most to this community.”
It’s not too late to join, Every contribution – monthly, yearly, or one-time – makes a difference.
