NJArts.net launched eight months ago, and in that time, has published 578 posts (including previews, reviews and news stories) and maintained the most thorough NJ arts listings you can find anywhere on the web. Through our New Shows Going on Sale page and our NJ Ticket Update Facebook posts and Tweets, we keep arts lovers throughout the state informed about new events, and through our Ticket Giveaways page we run contests for free tickets to events at some of the state’s top venues. We also send out a free email newsletter that goes out three or four times a week.
I’ve had some help from some of the state’s best arts writers, including Robert Johnson, Tris McCall and Jim Testa. But mostly I’ve done it myself — and that includes building and maintaining the web site, and working on the business side of things. It’s been an intense, but great, experience.
The idea, from the start, was to generate enough money through advertising to keep it going. And we’re continuing to make progress on that front, thanks largely to the contributions of our new advertising and marketing director, Cindy Stagoff. But I have received so much positive feedback from so many people — those who visit the site regularly, and those in the arts community — that I’ve wondered if it would make sense to offer people a way to contribute in a less formal way. So here goes.
I’m asking for donations, and have started a page, titled Friends & Supporters, on which people can get a mention and a link (to whatever they choose), write a message, or show a photo or even a video, depending on how much they donate. (Contributors will also be acknowledged in the newsletter). For artists, event promoters or those organizing an arts festival, it’s a way to get a little extra exposure for very little money. For readers, it’s a way to help ensure that NJArts.net continues to exist. Even if you are unable to donate, you can help by spreading the word about this.
I’d like to reiterate the idea of NJArts.net: To provide a central web site for information about, and discussion of, all the state’s arts activities. And I’m happy to say that even though the site is still in its early stages, everyone seems to “get it”: Since I started talking to people about it, more than a year ago, no one has questioned why there is a need for such a site.
Obviously, the more money I have coming in, the more I can pay other writers to contribute, and strengthen our content. I want the site not just to survive, but thrive. And with your help it can.
For more information visit njarts.net/friends-supporters.
We need your help!
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.
