June 19, 2025 |
By Administrator | Posted in: General Information
I really hate asking for money, but we’re at a critical point.
Here’s the bottom line: Look at the readership figures above.
If everyone who reads our website had given us $1 last year, we would never need to run advertising. But in reality, only a small percentage of people ever donates — usually as a thank-you for posting a death notice.
If it wasn’t for support for a few faithful donors — among them, the G.C. Murphy Co. Foundation, the Bill Persson family, the Flynn Family Foundation, Larry and Rikki Berger, and Eric and Judy Wisniewski — we’d be in big trouble.
As it is, we’ve taken two big financial hits recently. Our advertising revenue has dropped by about $100 per month after we responded to complaints by limiting the number of ads you see. And one of our longtime donors says they need to cut back their support by about $100 per month.
At the same time, our expenses have gone dramatically up. We are working to move our websites to a new server and as a result, our webhosting cost has already increased $1,200 — and we haven’t moved yet.
Royalties for playing music have gone up about 40 percent. We also now must pay for a service to file reports with the royalty-collecting organizations — that’s costing us $50 per month. (You may have noticed that several local Internet radio stations have gone out of business because they can no longer afford the costs.)
Add all of that up — we need to raise another $500 a month or so, or we’re not going to be able to continue. We have a small reserve fund right now but it’s not going to last.
If you are financially able, and would like to make a gift, please consider doing so.
Donations may be made by check or money order to:
Tube City Community Media Inc.
P.O. Box 94
McKeesport PA 15134
Or via PayPal at: http://www.tubecityonline.com/contact/
I think what we do is important. I think that other people do, as well. Last year, we were honored by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania with the “Service to Journalism” award. Two of our reporters received separate awards for their work.
Five years ago, we were singled out by Columbia Journalism Review and asked to contribute monthly pieces about local news coverage, which were later collected into a book called “American Deadline.”
If you think this is important — even if you just visit our obituaries page every day — we very much could use your support. We pay reporters $50 to $100 per story. Your $50 or $100 gift goes directly to paying for their work — I don’t take any kind of payment from this website, and neither do any of our board members or officers.
If we could raise an extra $5,000 to $10,000 this year, we’d be OK.
We are recognized as a tax-exempt organization by the Internal Revenue Service, so your gift may be tax-deductible as a charitable contribution.
If you have a business that is looking to make a contribution, or if you have a charitable foundation that could donate money to help us, please reach out.
Thank you for your continued support of our organization.
January 02, 2022 |
By Administrator | Posted in: General Information
Our goal is to continue to provide coverage of news and events in McKeesport, Duquesne, North Versailles Twp., White Oak and the surrounding area. We'd even like to grow, but first, we need to get back to full strength.
We don't ask for money very often. If you can help us, we would very much appreciate a donation this year.
We are an IRS-registered 501(C)(3) charity, which means your donation may be tax-deductible.
If you are financially able, and would like to make a gift, please consider doing so.
Donations may be made by check or money order to:
Tube City Community Media Inc.
P.O. Box 94
McKeesport PA 15134
Or via PayPal at: http://www.tubecityonline.com/contact/
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December 22, 2020 |
By Administrator | Posted in: General Information
In an era where we're being bombarded every day on our telephones by scams and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by hoaxes and propaganda, access to information is more important than ever.
This year was a very difficult one for everyone. At Tube City Community Media, we lost one of our best correspondents due to a family emergency, while another had to give up writing for us because of her daytime work obligations. That left us unable to cover some communities with the depth they deserve, and we're sorry about that.
But we've persisted and we are working to recruit several new writers — two of them have already had bylines recently and we're looking forward to more of their good work.
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December 21, 2019 |
By Editor | Posted in: General Information
This is a time of year when people give thanks --- and on behalf of our board, volunteers and contributors, I want to thank each of you.
Several months ago, Tube City Community Media's websites hit a milestone I never thought we'd reach --- we had 10 million hits in a single calendar year. It's undoubtedly higher now.
When we launched this obituary service a few days after the McKeesport Daily News closed, we promised never to turn away any family for lack of ability to pay for a death notice, and we promised to keep it free of charge for readers. We are keeping that promise.
But to keep Tube City Almanac online, we do need your financial support.
We try not to ask for money all the time --- and we run only two fund drives, one in the summer and this one at the end of the year.
Tube City Community Media Inc. is an IRS 501(c)(3) charity and is eligible for tax-deductible donations.
If you are financially able, and would like to make a gift, please consider doing so.
Donations may be made by check or money order to:
Tube City Community Media Inc.
P.O. Box 94
McKeesport PA 15134
Or via PayPal at: http://www.tubecityonline.com/contact/
We are especially grateful to Scott Finney and his team at Finney Funeral Homes for their steadfast and generous support, and to Chris Odasso and his team at Willig Funeral Home and Jaycox-Jaworski Funeral Home for their continued support.
We also are grateful to the G.C. Murphy Co. Foundation and the E.R. Crawford Estate Trust Fund for their grants that have provided us with a stable base of operations for the past few years.
We are hoping we can grow again in 2020, and we look forward to continuing to provide you, and McKeesport-area residents, with this service.
Best wishes for a safe holiday and successful new year!
Sincerely,
Jason Togyer
Executive Director and Board Member
Tube City Community Media Inc.
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December 24, 2018 |
By Administrator | Posted in: General Information
Photo courtesy: https://www.cheapfullcoverageautoinsurance.com/how-much-does-full-coverage-cost/
Last year, 133,983 people used Tube City Almanac's obituaries page. That's an increase of 9 percent over the previous year. According to Google, which tracks the site's usage, about 20 to 25 percent of you are regular users of the service.
If you do use this service, and you can afford to make a donation, we would be grateful for a contribution.
We are an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) charity, and your donations may be tax deductible as allowed by law.
Donations may be made by check or money order to Tube City Community Media Inc., P.O. Box 94, McKeesport 15134; or via PayPal at: http://www.tubecityonline.com/contact/
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April 28, 2017 |
By Editor | Posted in: General Information
On behalf of the board of directors of Tube City Community Media Inc., I wanted to publicly thank all of the Mon-Yough area funeral homes who provide obituaries to McKeesportObituaries.com.
Our readership figures provide evidence that this service is appreciated by Mon-Yough area residents, because these death notices are read by many, many people:
- From Jan. 1, 2017 until today, McKeesportObituaries.com had 42,042 visitors. Those people visited the website 188,543 times --- 79 percent of them were repeat visitors.
- From Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2016, we had 79,248 visitors, who visited the website 318,243 times. Again, most of them (75 percent) were repeat visitors.
(Figures are from Google Analytics.)
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December 29, 2016 |
By Editor | Posted in: General Information
You are hearing from a lot of non-profit organizations right now, asking for donations.
I hate to be the 20th organization asking for money, but I have to.
Tube City Community Media Inc., the operator of McKeesportObituaries.com, is an IRS 501(c)(3) charity and is eligible for tax-deductible donations.
If you are financially able, and would like to make a gift, please consider doing so; donations may be made by check or money order to Tube City Community Media Inc., P.O. Box 94, McKeesport 15134; or via PayPal at: http://www.tubecityonline.com/contact/
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February 05, 2016 |
By Editor | Posted in: General Information
Thank you to the following underwriters who have made donations in support of this website:
Finney Funeral Homes
Clairton, Dravosburg and Glassport
(800) 448-9899
www.finneyfuneralhome.com
Bekavac Funeral Homes
Clairton, Elizabeth and Versailles
412-233-3272, 412-384-4344 or 412-678-3454
www.bekavacfuneralhome.com
