$5,437.94

Raised

Donations

$6,000

Goal

I've been working at the Reader, off and on, for over 30 years, and reading it for nearly 40. As the theater and dance editor for the last five years, I know I'm part of a long tradition that stretches back to the earliest days of our history. We've always been obsessed with covering performing arts from all over the city, with an emphasis on the new, the weird, the raw -- the work that happens because its creators have something to say -- and whether they're saying it in a storefront, a basement, a street corner, or a park, we try to be there for them to capture that lightning in a bottle before it vanishes. 

By my count, in 2024 we ran 373 features and reviews on live performance, including theater, dance, comedy, live lit, variety/burlesque/drag, puppetry, magic, and circus arts. Our freelancers comprise the most diverse and wide-reaching pool of writers in Chicago.

So many artists and companies that have gone on to national fame got their first notices in the Reader. And on our news and investigation side, so many major stories about criminal justice (John Conroy's series on Jon Burge and police torture), social justice (Katie Prout's stories about our unhoused fellow citizens), the twisty inner workings of city government (Ben Joravsky's coverage of TIFs) have also found a home that has enlarged our understanding of how our city works (and how it doesn't).
  
Independent media outlets like the Reader matter more than ever now. We have been around for over half a century, but only became a nonprofit after a long, bumpy road a couple years ago. We've survived the COVID shutdown and so many other challenges, and continue to shine a light on the arts and culture, while providing context for how and why the cultural life and the social fabric of the city are entwined.

Now we are facing another challenge. If the Reader ever helped you find a job, an apartment, a date, or showed you something or someone in Chicago you would never have known about otherwise, please think about helping us if you can. We want to stick around  for all the great shows and important stories still to come.


We need your help today

After more than 50 years of serving Chicago, the Reader faces imminent closure. 


Can you imagine Chicago without the Chicago Reader? We can’t either. But a perfect storm of sudden economic downturns has put us in a precarious position, without much time to spare.


We’re not giving up though. We have a clear path forward, but only if we can raise enough from enough supporters to make it through this crisis. 


If you value the Reader, and want to see it survive, please chip in now with a tax-deductible donation. 


Questions about giving? Email development@chicagoreader.com or at:

Reader Institute for Community Journalism, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102 Chicago, IL 60616

The Reader Institute for Community Journalism is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 84-3670420). Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Questions about giving? Email development@chicagoreader.com or contact us at: Reader Institute for Community Journalism, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102 Chicago, IL 60616 The Reader Institute for Community Journalism is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 84-3670420). Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.