The Daily Illini has joined a nationwide fundraising competition, College Media Madness. This supports student-run newsrooms and publications by creating a contest among 25 schools to see which school can get the most donations.
College journalism has felt the damages of the pandemic, along with the decreased financial stability of local newspapers. All over the country, local newsrooms have decided to stop printing or have gone under altogether.
Your donations help us to continue. They give room for future journalists to grow. Working in the newsroom teaches us things no other class could; it is our hope that this option will be viable for future Illini.
This contest ends April 5, and we are currently in fourth place. Seeing as we are a top seed in the March Madness, it would be amazing to see the DI next to the No. 1 spot on the Media Madness website. Currently, Mizzou, Syracuse, Central Michigan and University of Florida are defeating us in donations. With a little more help, we can move up to third place or even higher. Our goal is to make it to $7,500.
On top of that, we are also celebrating our 150th year as a student-run publication. After 150 years in a world of ever-changing media, our paper has accomplished so much. In February, we received the Illinois College Press Association Sweepstake award, recognizing top excellence in Illinois. This would not have been possible without the help of our supporters and donors. All money received through donations goes directly to the betterment of the content we produce and keeps us afloat during a time that financial stability is not guaranteed.
We hope that you consider donating to the DI. Any amount helps. Here is to another 150 years!

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