Civil Beat converted to a nonprofit organization in June 2016. Read more about our decision to make that transition in this column, “Civil Beat: Finding Our Place In Hawaii’s Media Landscape.” And you can learn about our new membership program by clicking here.
We also have a new Editorial Independence and Corporate Donations Policy here.
Check out the About Us page for general information about Civil Beat.
Membership
Why should I become a member?
Membership revenue helps fund a professional staff of journalists who focus on investigative and explanatory reporting to help inform the community about issues of importance. The strength of any nonprofit organization lies in the support of community members through their donations and gifts.
To become a member, click here.
What are the membership options?
Our membership program allows for support at several levels. You can see those options on our membership page.
How do I become a member?
You can become a member by clicking the “Donate Now” button at the top of our homepage or you can click here.
I currently pay my subscription every month. What happens now?
You will automatically become a founding member and your monthly payment will continue unless you contact us to cancel it. If you pay your subscription monthly, your payment will become tax deductible effective June 1, 2016. You can contact us at membership@civilbeat.org.
I currently have a pre-paid subscription. How does this switch to membership affect me?
Subscribers with pre-paid annual subscriptions will also become founding members. But you will not be able to deduct the annual payment from your taxes if you made it prior to June 1, 2016. Once you renew as a member, your contributions are tax deductible.
How do I get a receipt to declare my tax deduction?
When you donate, our system will send a receipt to the email address you provide. You will receive another statement at the end of the year acknowledging your donation to Civil Beat. You can use either for tax purposes.
What is Civil Beat’s policy on donations?
You can read our policies relating to fundraising, donations and conflicts of interests in more detail by clicking here.
How will Civil Beat handle the relationship between editorial and donor interests?
Civil Beat is an independent news organization. Our editorial integrity is of paramount importance. Our donors have no influence over editorial content or the decisions that go into developing stories, photos, videos and audio reports. For more information, please visit our Corporation Donations Policy page.
What happens to CivilBeat.com?
CivilBeat.com is being redirected to our new site CivilBeat.org.
Newsletters
I want to receive the Morning Beat email at a different email address. How do I change that?
You can email us at membership@civilbeat.org with your old and new email addresses and we’ll be happy to change your account information for the Morning Beat.
Events
Why does Civil Beat hold events?
Part of Civil Beat’s mission is to foster civic conversations about important issues in Hawaii. We do this by taking the conversation to the community, so people can listen and ask questions of policy makers and other community members. We try to hold at least one public event a month. Civil Cafes bring together people involved in an issue in a panel presentation. Our Hawaii Storytellers feature people from the community sharing their own stories about issues of interest to us all. These events are announced on our website and in our daily newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Morning Beat.
Community Voices
How do I submit a Community Voice?
The Community Voices section aims to encourage broad discussion on topics of community interest. It’s kind of a cross between Letters to the Editor and op-eds. This is your space to talk about important issues or interesting people who are making a difference in our world. Columns generally run about 800 words (yes, they can be shorter or longer) and we need a photo of the author and a bio. We welcome video commentary and other multimedia formats. The submission must be exclusive to Civil Beat, and not have appeared in other publications. Send to news@civilbeat.org.
Here’s more on what to expect when you submit a Community Voice.
Commenting Guidelines
How do I comment on a Civil Beat story or column?
Civil Beat currently enables comments at the end of most articles and columns. The comments are moderated for content. You can also comment on stories on our Facebook page.
