Donation for community asset

Question

I served on the Town Council for 27 yrs, 1995-2022, during which I was Chairman numerous times and have often looked at this website, but not previously asked a question.

For 25yrs I have been the Editor of a 32 page parish magazine, which was established 50yrs ago this year and for those 50yrs a report of the Council meetings, in addition to their forthcoming events, Town Plan Survey, details of what the Council actually can and cannot do, etc. has been included free of charge.  It also includes reports from a Primary and a Secondary school and the local Police.

In a recent readers survey the Town Council report was second most popular item.

The population is between 2,500 and 3,000 and free copies of the monthly magazine are delivered, by 30 volunteers, including myself, to 1,600 households, businesses and care homes.
It is also available to download on the internet. There is a cover charge of 50p for 50 copies sold in the local newsagent at cost. There is no other income apart from advertising.

The Council has obtained the GPoC and due to the escalating cost of printing, I have asked whether they would consider a donation towards what has always been considered as a community asset of benefit to those who do not have or want to have an internet connection or mobile phone and prefer to read a copy at the leisure - yes there are still some in rural areas!

I have now been asked by the Clerk whether the schools and Police have also been asked for a donation and how much am I asking for. The answer is no as they are not promoting their schools and their depleted budgets would be better spent on books/education. The Police send reports of incidents to the Council but do not distribute any copies to residents.

The Council do have a website and a Facebook page which has about 500 followers. They give £600 to a 15 minute Bonfire Night organised firework which attracts about 250 local residents.
So my query is do other readers think I am justified in making this request and have you any suggestions as to what amount, if any, that should be?  Thank you.

Answer 1

Your efforts are very much to be applauded, in my opinion. Sometimes councils produce their own newsletter, but it is generally much better to have a community newsletter. It can, as you have done, include council matters, but also serve a range of community interests and activities.

The council have had the hard work done for them, and I would hope that they would provide financial support, perhaps covering the full cost of printing. After all, the distribution is being handled by volunteers, and would otherwise be a further expense.

Answer 2

I think you are justified in asking for a donation towards the costs of producing the parish magazine, they don't have to agree to contribute but if they do, I only hope that they don't think they are paying to have some sort of editorial control over the output