SearchIn the 30-plus years that hundreds of newspapers have been publishing Kid Scoop, we’ve heard about unusual sources of revenue to fund this popular family feature. And these days, revenue is crucial!
To entice new revenue, Kid Scoop offers pages that appeal to funders. Take a look at these and get ready to share them with the funding sources in your community that we list below.
Your news columns are filled with serious stories about learning loss. The COVID pandemic disrupted school schedules and home life for several years. Even when schools re-opened, teachers encountered children who had lost family members and were suffering emotionally. Many had not had structured lessons in reading and math for months at a time as harried parents struggled to manage work and home life.
All this contributed to reading and math test scores that declined sharply in every school district, even in those high-achieving schools.
Leaders at corporations and non-profit organizations have read your reports on learning loss and are primed to help students catch up. Research tells us that the more children read, the more they succeed. Funders are ready to support efforts to bring high-interest reading material for children to homes and schools. Your newspaper with Kid Scoop fits this mission! Educators will tell you that Kid Scoop not only is fun, but it is serious education. Kid Scoop activities are directly connected to basic required skills. (See the “Learning Links” in small type on each page.)
As you make your list of non-advertisers to contact, here are the key places to approach: giant corporations (contact their non-profit wings), economic development agencies, hospitals, financial planning companies, waste management businesses, service clubs, private foundations (both state and local), major employers (their employees have children!).
Partner with a non-profit that can apply for revenue grants to support weekly publication of Kid Scoop. They do all the paperwork for you. And be sure to ask for big money! Go for at least a full-year’s funding! With your pitch, be sure to include articles on learning loss and lowered test scores from your newspaper. (Kid Scoop can supply additional verified sources of research statistics as well.) Ask for and include testimonials from local educators—they are struggling to bring children up to grade level reading and appreciate your newspaper’s help providing more high-interest reading with Kid Scoop at home. We know because newspaper executives have told us.
