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As we are heading into the final months of 2020, we’re reflecting on what a difficult and unpredictable year it has been. From the pandemic, to a long-overdue reckoning on race, to this week’s chaotic presidential election in our swing state, 2020’s impacts have been far greater than any of us could have anticipated. These impacts have, of course, been felt locally and globally, at an individual level and also organizationally for us here at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. 

And yet, one thing is certain: The hunger for fact-checked, nonpartisan news is stronger than ever before.

That’s why we’re excited to share an opportunity to double your donation this year! For the fifth year, we’ve been selected to participate in NewsMatch, a national matching-gift campaign that drives donations to nonprofit newsrooms around the U.S. 

Through your generosity, we are determined to reach our goal of raising $75,000 by the end of 2020. 

In a more typical year, this funding opportunity would be crucial to fulfilling our mission. But in 2020, it’s absolutely critical for the public to receive reliable information. As a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization, with your donations, we fulfill our guiding principles: Protect the vulnerable. Expose wrongdoing. Explore solutions. 

NewsMatch and generous members of our Watchdog Club have established a $75,000 fund to challenge you to match this amount by the end of the year! New monthly donations will be matched by NewsMatch 12x your monthly contribution.

We can’t do it without you. With your support we can continue producing the high-quality, independent journalism you’ve come to depend on — especially this year!

This has not been a normal year and now more than ever, nonpartisan, investigative journalism is needed going into 2021. To continue our important work, we need to reach our $75,000 goal by the end of the year. 

Can we count on your support of a one-time donation of $50, $100, $250 or whatever you are able to give? Another great way to donate is by making monthly contributions of $5, $10, $20 or whatever you are able to give!

Give today and NewsMatch will double the impact of your donation.

Donations may be mailed to WCIJ, Fifth Floor, Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave., Madison WI 53706, or made securely via credit card by clicking here.

Because the Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, a donation you make between now and Dec. 31, not only gets doubled by NewsMatch, but it’s also tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Please make a gift today and have it matched!

We deeply appreciate your support and the support of our generous matching donors. 

The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

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Andy Hall, a co-founder of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and a former Investigative Reporters and Editors board member, won dozens of awards for his reporting in 26 years at the Wisconsin State Journal and The Arizona Republic. Since the Center’s launch in 2009, he has been responsible for the Center’s journalistic and financial operations.

Hall began his career in 1982 as a copyboy at The New York Times. At The Republic, Hall helped break the “Keating Five” scandal involving Sen. John McCain. At the State Journal, Hall’s stories held government and the powerful accountable and protected the vulnerable through coverage that addressed the racial achievement gap in public schools and helped spark the creation of the nationally noted Schools of Hope volunteer tutoring program, revealed NCAA violations by University of Wisconsin athletes, and exposed appalling conditions in neglected neighborhoods such as Allied Drive and Worthington Park. Hall won a first-place award in 2008 for beat reporting from the Education Writers Association. He also has received National Headliner, Gerald Loeb, James K. Batten and Inland Press Association awards for investigative, financial, deadline and civic journalism coverage. Hall has served as a mentor to the staff of La Comunidad, a Spanish-language newspaper in Madison, and has taught numerous courses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication. He serves on the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council Board of Directors, Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism Board of Directors, and Indiana University Media School’s Journalism Alumni Board, of which he is president. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and, in 2016, received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU Media School. He also serves as a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News membership task force to create and uphold high industry standards.