Opening Letters

What Is Volume One Worth to You?

It’s a magazine and a website. It’s local events and a community vision. All free of charge.

Nick Meyer |

Volume One is a business. And while really no more noble than a donut shop, a lot of people (us included) sometimes view Volume One as a part of an epic and sweeping cultural crusade – a brilliantly organized effort to stamp out the chance of a boring Chippewa Valley existence while championing the community and its arts, entertainment, and progress. People view us as spirited and heroic warriors, risking life and limb to fight the good fight for our emerging scene.

Regardless, many people ask us how they can help our “cause,” what they can do to help out the magazine. A lot of them will say they can’t write or take photos, can’t do layout or draw pictures, or can’t really do any of the things that you would normally associate with making a publication.  But they still really want to contribute in some way. Short of inviting people to the office to help clean the bathroom, we often have to shrug and just thank them for the offer. It’s kind of dumb, we’re sometimes helpless to let you help us. But, there is a way you can directly contribute to our efforts in this community.

    A few years ago, taking a cue from public-supported media like Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television, Volume One launched its first-ever membership drive centered around a killer “deal card” saving you cash at a laundry-list of local businesses. Last year, unfortunately, we had to ditch the drive due to a tiny staff overwhelmed with projects. However after significant encouragement from readers for it to return, we now proudly launch the 2009 Volume One Membership Drive!

Wait!  Don’t groan and turn the page!  We know when many people think of membership drives, they often think of hours of boring begging, reminders that “the phone lines are open!,” and roll call lists of the people like “Susan in Sheboygan who generously gave $50 in the name of her cat, Cuddles.” But this isn’t going to be like that. Really.

It’s as simple as this: In the same way that you can help a local business like a fledgling coffee house, restaurant, or retail space by choosing to spend your money there, you can now help Volume One like that too. Starting this November, we’re again unveiling a series of membership levels (one’s sure to fit your budget!) with a whole host of premiums and benefits to thank you for your interest. And all the gifts are focused on our own local culture. At various levels you can pick from five local CDs, five local books, grab two tickets to any State Theatre show, and more (Don’t want the stuff yourself? Think great gifts!). Plus, your membership status qualifies you for tons of killer local deals on your V1 Card, several free events, and many member-only surprises throughout the year. It’s a great way for Volume One to connect with the community that really supports it (and vice versa), and a way for us to keep things on track back at the office.

The idea of being partially member-supported has always sounded really good to us, and a strong member base could make a big difference in a lot of ways. If we can get just 3% of our readership signed up as Volume One members we can guarantee the money will be put towards some really cool new projects and events in 2010. It might be an ambitious goal, we don’t know. But we do know that a little ambition can take you to some interesting places.

So think it over – do you want to be a part of that local-savvy and generous three percent? Has more than seven years of a free local publication like Volume One been worth the nominal price of a membership to you? If so, check out the membership information on pages 2-3 or at VolumeOne.org and we’ll look forward to hearing from you. And thanks in advance for your support in fighting the good fight.

VolumeOne.org/memberships