Denver’s street paper, the Voice, saved by a wave of generosity

The November issue of The Denver Voice will be a love letter to the city residents who saved it — after the long-running street paper almost collapsed.

The Voice had announced in September they were out of money and had to stop publication. It was a big deal for the paper’s vendors, many of whom are currently or formerly homeless and sell the Voice on street corners for steady income.

But now, the paper is back. The Voice saw a groundswell of support after other local news outlets, including Denverite, reported on their financial straits.

Voice board chair Robert Davis said the paper raised enough money to publish its monthly issues through the end of the year, and keep it solvent until some pending grant applications can come through.

Most of that money came from residents who cared about the publication, Davis told us.

Back in September, Davis said the organization had struggled in part due to turnover in its executive director role, making it tough to manage grants and donations. National economic trends have also reduced donations to nonprofits.

But once news of the paper’s crisis spread, allies suddenly appeared to help, Davis said in an interview this week. The Voice raised about $50,000 in just a few weeks.

That included $10,000 from a single giver. Another $10,000 came through a quick grant from the Denver Foundation.

“A lot of the messages we received from supporters were like, ‘The Denver Voice means a lot to the community and we don’t want to see it go anywhere,'” Davis told us. “It was really heartwarming to see that kind of support from the community, especially in a time when it felt like the world was against us.”

Giles Clasen, a longtime contributor and former Voice board member, said a few Denver City Council members also chipped in. Elisabeth Monaghan, the paper’s editor, is practically vibrating with relief after a rough few months.

“It’s been kind of an exhausting experience,” she said. “If we can build from here, learn from our mistakes and grow, that is a heck of a comeback.”

They’re hoping to keep this momentum going.

By Jan. 1, the Voice’s leaders want to have enough money in their coffers for the first three issues of 2025.

Davis said the Voice’s board has decided to save money by leaving the executive director job vacant for now.

“Executive directors are more about future growth,” he told us. “We really have to double down on our core product, which is our newspaper, before we think about growing into new forms of income.”

Still, Clasen said they are looking into some additional products for vendors to sell, namely greeting cards decorated by local artists. They’d like to have that operation in place in time for the holidays.

While Davis, Clasen and Monaghan are happy the paper itself will continue to exist, they all said it’s more important to provide for the vendors who rely on the publication for income.

“The best thing we can do right now is keep providing papers to vendors,” Monaghan said.

So, that’s why the November issue will be a giant “thank you” to the city. There was far more on the line than newsprint.

“It’s frankly incredible, the support we’ve seen from people who came out of the woodwork to help us,” Davis said. “Big thank you to the Denver community. We couldn’t do this without them.”

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