Research and writing shouldn’t be paid with symbolic fees. We were able to get Futuress off the ground thanks to cultural funding and personal investment. Now, we need your support to keep Futuress going and growing.
In the past years, the digital turn and big tech has led to a failure of established business models in journalism and publishing. And now, COVID-19 has exacerbated those financing problems. On top of that, it has always been difficult to fund research and writing that takes a stance against big power and structural inequalities. In the midst of all of this, what we’re trying to do with Futuress isn’t easy—all support counts.
Your support will help us continue to commission original writing, research, and reporting from people from around the world. It will help us offer more workshops at affordable prices on a sliding scale. It will help our team keep doing their work, without which Futuress could not exist. And we’re dreaming big: We want to expand our team, commission more freelancers, offer free-of-charge workshops, and develop a digital community through the form of a membership space. These dreams can only be achieved through a collective effort.
We are planning a crowdfunding effort and a Futuress membership scheme for the beginning of 2021. In the meantime, you can support us by: 1) Signing up to our newsletter, or 2) Making a donation.
Sign up to our newsletter
Our newsletter keeps you up to date on what is going on with Futuress. It highlights new stories, and includes information about upcoming lectures and workshops.
For online publishing, newsletters have a double function. They serve you, the community, but they also help us to create a small income stream. Futuress is careful about what brands it partners with. However, we offer ad spots in our newsletter. By signing up for free, you are also helping us begin our monetization process. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.
If you’d like to support Futuress by advertising in our newsletter, please email sponsorships@futuress.org for more information.
Donate
We are grateful for any amount you are willing to donate; every contribution helps. If you can afford to donate a bit more, here are some numbers to help you understand what you could contribute to:
- 150 CHF ($164) allows us to pay second publishing rights for an existing article
- 400 CHF ($438) allows us to commission an essay based on prior research or with lighter reporting
- 800 CHF ($875) allows us to commission a heavily researched and reported article
- 1,000 CHF ($1,095) would even give us the possibility to commission accompanying photography or up the reporting budget for the writer
Sponsorship
Futuress offers individual donors or brands the possibility to sponsor specially themed article packages or investigations, for which Futuress curates and manages all aspects of commissioning and editing the content. For instance, you could contribute to or set up a “design history research fund,” an “investigative design reporting fund,” or an “emerging voices fund.” For more information about our donor funds or sponsorship opportunities, please email to receive our Partnerships & Sponsorships package: sponsorships@futuress.org.