The Andover Beacon’s vital fall fundraising campaign gets underway on October 6! That’s when our volunteer canvassers will start picking names of Andover residents who haven’t donated to the Beacon yet this year. If this is the first you’re hearing of this new initiative and why it’s vital to keeping the Beacon going, here’s a quick “guided tour” of what’s at stake and how you can help.

What’s all the fuss about? In brief, we’ve tried for 10 years to achieve stable, sustainable finances for the Beacon. We’re not there yet, and we’re running out of time to get there.

To get there, we have to increase the number of Andover households who make an annual donation to the Beacon. For all the thinking behind this, visit AndoverBeacon.com/All-of-Us.

How does this affect me? If you’ve already donated to The Andover Beacon this year (or if you get a donation to us before a canvasser calls you), the fall fundraising campaign doesn’t affect you at all! Otherwise, a volunteer canvasser will contact you to ask if you would make a donation for 2014 to help keep the Beacon going.

What’s the goal for this campaign? The ultimate goal, which it may take a few years to reach, is to increase the number of Andover households that donate each year to the Beacon from 200 to about 650. That should put the Beacon on a stable and sustainable financial footing, so it can continue serving Andover into the indefinite future.

I’ve got more questions. We’ve tried to answer every question at AndoverBeacon.com/Donor-FAQ. But if that page doesn’t help, please contact me at Charlie@nullAndoverBeacon.com or 735-6099.