LION Publishers Awarding $20K Grant to Southpoint Access

Ok, let’s get right to the news: I’ve learned that my work so far as SoDu’s neighborhood news guy has earned Southpoint Access a $20,000 grant.

The funding comes from the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers sustainability audit program, geared toward helping local news startups like mine find a strong path forward in their early development.

I joined LION last year, soon after launching the original Southpoint Access project on Substack.

Throughout the year, they hold sustainability audits for news startups like mine. How does that work? Well, I submitted an application, describing what I’m doing in South Durham to keep folks informed and how I want to grow beyond just a hobby. I want to build something that becomes a news source of record for neighbors in and around Southpoint.

LION paired me with Ashley Woods Branch, an audit analyst, and she spent time getting to know me and Southpoint Access so that she could get a handle on what I might need to expand the reach of this publication. What should I do? What should I stop doing? What’s the best use of my energy?

In the end, she produced a detailed report full of valuable recommendations that I immediately consumed and took to heart:

• Focus on newsletter growth, reaching readers in their inboxes instead of expecting them to visit a website or social media.
• Eliminate programmatic non-local ads on the Southpoint Access website.
• Write an end-of-year appeal for donations and add a DONATE button to the top of the Southpoint Access newsletter home page.
• Consider a new content management system other than Wordpress. (In the past few weeks, I switched to the Ghost platform.)
• Make it easier for readers to sign up for the newsletter. (Ghost does this effortlessly.)

We’ve also discussed the concept of a “mobile newsroom,” which would see me traveling from one location to another to meet with readers where they work and dwell, to let them share their stories, and allow folks in SoDu to get to know me as their neighborhood news guy.

And now I'm the neighborhood news guy celebrating the first-ever grant for Southpoint Access. I am so grateful to LION Publishers for their confidence in me and what I want to accomplish with this project.

So what’s that funding going to do?

Well, I don’t plan to squander it on office furniture. I’ll pay for Zoom so I’m not limited to 40 minutes. I’ll invest in the next step up in Ghost’s platform. I’ll spend some on marketing opportunities to help spread the word about Southpoint Access and build revenue. But I’m most excited about the idea of paying local freelancers to help develop content for Southpoint Access. Ultimately, this can't just be about my voice all the time, and I want to do my part to contribute to Durham's local economy.

If you’re interested in helping me keep our SoDu neighbors informed, reach out to southpointaccessnews@gmail.com.