• Double your money = Fuel the Cable’s expansion

The impact you can have by becoming a Patron now is huge. We’ve been offered a bonus grant of £40,000 if we’re able to increase our membership income by £60,000 before September 2024. This would be a huge turning point for the Cable on its path to sustainability.

Patron Members are the key to achieving this. It would mean the Cable could not only up its game on the basics, such as paying decent salaries to retain quality staff, but also on launching new, complex and long-term projects such as major podcast or documentary series, innovating our existing news products such as our award-nominated newsletter, putting us in an even more exciting position to attract new members, compete with other outlets and deliver even greater results for Bristol.

• Delivering greater equality for Bristol

Patrons are realising a crucial civic duty: not only will you be supporting the Cable by securing our future, you’ll also be supporting those on lower incomes to become members at rates they can afford, and ensuring the Cable remains free to access for those who can’t afford membership at all. This will ensure we have a diverse and equitable membership and readership where no one is excluded by their ability to pay.

• Pioneering sustainable public interest journalism for the UK

Patrons can help secure the future of UK public interest journalism. The Bristol Cable is recognised around the UK, and internationally, as the pioneer of the local news membership model. Since 2014, we have been a leading voice in the movement to innovate for lasting change in the media industry, succeeding simply by surviving. But, we want to thrive, and see other media co-ops do so too. Patrons’ contributions will safeguard our ability to continue this wider advocacy and development work, supporting other fledgling outfits and rebuilding the UK’s local news industry.

Patron members receive all Cable member benefits, plus the chance to opt-in to:

• An annual impact report on the work your contribution has funded
• A selection of limited edition Cable merchandise created by local artists
• A fully backdated archive of The Bristol Cable in print
• Public recognition as a significant contributor to our local and international impact and achievements

You can become a Patron via our Join page by selecting the annual option, and entering £1,000 or more into the form. If you’re already a member, you can switch to an annual contribution of £1,000 by logging in to your membership profile in the top-right corner of the Cable website, and selecting ‘contribution‘ in your profile menu (on the left hand side).