Donna Baker-Hartwell speaks for many of us when she says, “There is no other paper that brings together local news better than The Andover Beacon. It’s where I find out what is going on in town and in neighboring towns. I especially like to know “who’s who”. With a population of almost 2500 people, Andover has a vast array of interesting folks doing interesting things as volunteers, artists, civic leaders, business owners, teachers, travelers – to mention a few. There is a lot going on in our town and The Andover Beacon highlights this in every issue. I see “Our Hometown Newspaper” as a means to welcome newcomers as well as a means to help all residents stay informed and feel connected.”
Ever since calendars flipped to 2023, Andover citizens have been stepping up to breathe new energy into the Beacon. The Beacon’s board of directors has grown from five to twelve people, all of whom have deep connections to our community. The Beacon’s search is on for an additional paid staff member, as well as a team of enthusiastic volunteers like you, folks who would like to work together on tasks such as proofreading, helping receive and distribute papers, and reaching out to nearby employers, businesses, and organizations about buying ads to support the Beacon.
For many years, the Beacon has relied on generous donors, advertising sales, and out of town subscribers to support our paper, which has been distributed for free to all in Andover. While the Beacon will continue to operate as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, it cannot indefinitely spend more than it takes in. As our customary printer sold its Upper Valley business to an outfit in Maine, production costs have jumped and delivery costs have about tripled. Beacon revenue has not kept pace. The Beacon board is considering ways to control its printing and distribution costs, and looking into viable options.
A clear understanding of the Beacon’s current challenges and possible solutions can be reached by considering so-called “fixed costs” and “variable costs”. Fixed costs are those that don’t change much, even if the number of pages printed changes a lot. Things like office rental, staff salaries, and phone and internet bills are fixed costs. Variable costs track directly with the number of pages, like paper, print, and mailing costs.
There are fixed and variable sources of income as well. A $1,000 per year grant or donation is fixed income, while advertisements sold and issues mailed to out-of-town subscribers are variable income. As soon as an organization’s total income fails to equal its fixed costs, there’s a “train wreck” – the outfit cannot pay its bills and goes out of business. Obviously, the Beacon has avoided that “train wreck” because it is in far better shape than that, but the Board’s challenge is to figure out how best to make adjustments to grow the Beacon’s total income, while preventing the total costs from outgrowing whatever revenue gains are made.
The Beacon board has made several observations. Today, advertisements in the Beacon cost two-thirds of what similar free-distribution newspapers are charging in our region, but those publications boast much greater circulation, reaching more than twice as many households. In order to offer advertisers a competitive “eyeballs per dollar” value, the Beacon can only slash ad prices (a bad idea, because that “train wreck” would happen) or increase its reach by growing its circulation. Since the Beacon already is distributed free to all Andover households, increasing circulation necessarily means reaching beyond the boundaries of Andover in some way.
The Board has already taken exciting steps to grow a “bigger and better Beacon” through more high-interest content and attracting good advertisers from a larger region than the immediate Andover vicinity. Elevating the content necessarily increases the existing workload, and will involve adding a part-time production assistant to the staff, and encouraging more folks like you to submit your interesting stories, photos, and thoughtful musings. To increase the paper’s revenue, the Beacon needs volunteers to step up who can help talk to local businesses and organizations. They need to know that the Beacon is the best place for them to spend their advertising dollars! There are other ways you can help as well.
In early April, the Board will be sending out a fundraising “appeal” letter. It will serve to remind Andover residents about the good the Beacon does in the community, and the reasons it should be kept alive. Please take a moment to send in a donation amount that is right for you, so that we can continue to deliver the local news, for free, every month.
Anyone who wishes to help the Beacon, in any manner, can contact Shelley Geoghegan (Publisher/Editor) at 603 735-6099 or Shelley@nullAndoverBeacon.com. Let’s all work together to keep our community asset, The Andover Beacon, alive and well far into the future!