2025 Impact Report

The Richmonder is pleased to offer our readers, donors and other stakeholders this look into our first full year of operations. For a printed copy, please email support@richmonder.org with your mailing address.

On Monday mornings, The Richmonder’s reporting team gathers to catch up and make a plan for the upcoming week.

In our first weeks, I would also often update the reporters on how we were doing as a brand new nonprofit. They had each taken a big risk in leaving established organizations to join a startup that promised a new way of sharing local news.

But while we knew the risks, we also saw the need. The city’s newspaper is shrinking before our eyes, and the voices filling the void on Facebook and other social media sites are often unreliable, unprofessional and downright divisive.

We’ve committed to a different way. We attend community meetings to hear the concerns of residents. We sit at City Hall while decisions are made that shape Richmond’s future. And we don’t use a “paywall” on our website, because we believe everybody deserves a seat at the table when important decisions are being made.

I’m happy to report that our first year has been a smash hit. 

You’ll see some of those metrics in this report, about how many people visit the site, or our ever-growing donor list of more than 1,200 supporters. You’ll also read about some of the ways we’ve changed the city through our reporting.

As we grow, we’ll hold true to our roots, providing local news coverage to help you feel informed and empowered.

Because at the end of the day, this is personal for us. We live here. We believe a thriving Richmond happens when all Richmonders get a seat at the table. Thank you for joining us. We absolutely could not do it without you.