???? Crowdfunding in Covid times ????

So yesterday we launched PressPad's second-ever crowdfunder ?? to raise ￡15,000 to be able to bring back our Covid-response online support programme for young journalists, PressPad Remote, for a further 6 months.

The Sutton Trust has reported that 61% of employers had to cancel work placements because of the pandemic ?? & PressPad Remote was our answer to filling that gap for aspiring journalists in limbo denied access to internships and that crucial foot in the door.

And 24hrs after our public launch we've already raised 15%. (We need to raise 30% by Saturday morning ? to reach the crucial statistical tipping point to be likely to reach our target. That means we need pledges of another ?? ￡2,250 ?? before today is over!)

But I have a confession to make. I feel like a hypocrite. Only days ago this week, I was talking about #standingout & stepping up yet pushing the 'go live' button this one was really HARD for me. If anything, I've never been so reluctant to take something PUBLIC.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? WHY? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

?? It's only been a year since we last crowdfunded ?? and I had internally sworn that last year with our #DiversifytheMedia crowdfunder it would be the ONE sole time PressPad asked our community for money (because I know we have a sustainable business model & once we're set up we won't need to - that's one of the few reasons I've thrown so much behind the project, it pays for itself!).

But then Covid hit ?? & our whole hosting scheme, where we match interns with senior journalists who have a spare room for them to stay in and also offer advice and mentoring - was put on pause. The pandemic ?? is the reason WHY we're crowdfunding but also a part of my reluctance...when everyone is experiencing acute need - individuals, small companies, govts - how can you prioritise YOUR project's needs ?? ?

Young People Need Us

Those who have really helped me PUSH THROUGH even when I've felt this huge reluctance are the young people who have told us how much PressPad Remote sessions mean to them. Some feature in our crowdfunding video which you can watch here ??

Those young people include Qais Hussain, an aspiring journalist from Bradford, attended most of our Remote sessions and, whenever I feel unsure, I come back to these words he wrote for our press release.

"Living in Yorkshire and being 16, I never thought journalism was for me, the idea never crossed my mind - that was until I discovered PressPad. I love the community that PressPad has created and the willingness of people to help. Usually, workshops have to be paid for, PressPad was very different, every activity they ran was free - which made it accessible to students like me.  

Not only has PressPad improved my journalism skills but it has shaped me as a person and helped me to discover myself and achieve things I never would have thought possible. The most salient thing I learned is to believe in myself, something which is at the core of PressPad’s vision and hope, and which I learned from Frank Starling, who led the 'Tackling Imposter Syndrome’ workshop. I will always be in PressPad’s debt."

And when I read that & see the hard work of the five incredible ?? young women I’ve just started working with as paid interns on our crowdfunding campaign: Elena Vardon, Amy Lyall, Nicole Chang, Lydia Wilkins & Eloise Barry, I feel a bit surer.

PressPad Remote was a HUGE success

Then there are the STATS.

Our Covid-response support programme has seen:

• More than 7,800 young people attend events in the three and half months it ran.
• During the first season, 33% of PressPad Remote attendees considered themselves working class,
• 28% identified as Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority and
• 98% didn’t have parents or close connections who worked in the media. 

Attendees have landed JOBS and COMMISSIONS off the back of PressPad Remote sessions and credit it with helping them feel they 'belong' in the journalism industry.

Georgina Truss, now a producer at Hashtag Our Stories wrote to me earlier this month on Linkedin and said: “Hi Olivia! Just wanted to drop a message to say Thank you! I had a CV clinic with yourself a few months ago. Maybe even just over a month, then I got my first ever interview and I got a job from that first interview! Thank-you again for giving up your time to provide the clinics! ??”

We're making the 'New Normal' happen

One of the silver linings during the coronavirus pandemic has been an increase in accessibility to many events that would previously only have taken place in London and might have felt intimidating for those who are not as represented in the UK media.

It's also allowed journalists to join from abroad: From April to July, PressPad Remote saw people attending its programme of free masterclasses and clinics from all over the world - signing up from France, Poland, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Kenya, among other places 

Socio-economic barriers to the media are NOT going away ??

According to The Sutton Trust almost half of current undergraduates (46%) believe the pandemic has had a negative effect on their chances of finding a job and 39% of graduate employers say they expect to hire fewer graduates, or none at all, in the next 12 months.

While we hope recent apprenticeship schemes can buck this trend, it’s clear that the economic impact of the pandemic on graduates is likely to last for some time and we believe PressPad Remote provides much-needed valuable, accessible and inclusive support. It's a programme that chimes with PressPad’s mission to remove financial and geographical barriers of entry to the media professions and BOY is that needed.

So....

I've convinced myself anew this morning that what we're doing is needed, urgent and important. But have I convinced you? If so PLEASE pledge TODAY. We have to hit ￡4,500 by the end of the day to maintain the momentum needed to reach out ￡15,000 target and keep providing remote support to young people affected by Covid.

A bit of background about PressPad

PressPad was founded by BBC journalist Olivia Crellin (Founder) following her own experience of entering a journalism career from outside London – and after hearing the stories of many others. She’s mentored hundreds of young journalists and was chosen as a 2019 Big Issue ChangeMaker for her work on improving access to the media industry. You can read more about her story and what it took to get PressPad started here.

PressPad’s mission is to solve the very real problem of elitism and lack of socio-economic diversity in the media industry. Since its hosting pilot in 2018, PressPad has placed 50 interns with senior journalists who have a spare room. On average, the interns helped by our social enterprise are 73% working class, 23% BAME and 93% of them are completing an unpaid internship. Currently across the UK media only 11% of journalists come from a working-class background. More than half of the country’s top journalists went to private schools and 94% of journalists in the UK are white.

PressPad is a recipient of a British Press Award for Innovation in Journalism (2019) and has received grants, funding and support from The Financial Times, The Sun (News UK), The Google News Initiative, The Department for Culture, Media and Sports (via The Future of News Fund), The School for Social Entrepreneurs, Pitch@Palace and many members of the media community.

The team currently consists of student journalists Ayo Adekaiyero and Amber Sunner who manage PressPad’s social media and blog and newsletters respectively. PressPad is currently working with a small team of interns who are helping run the crowdfunder campaign and design the next season of PressPad Remote. They are all beneficiaries of PressPad’s hosting and/or Remote programme. Their names are: Eloise Barry, Lydia Wilkins, Amy Lyall, Nicole Chang and Elena Vardon.