There are a number of ways VIB will use your contribution to better serve the community.

• Increase VIB's multimedia presence by creating a program offering training to members of the community in video journalism. TJ Walkup, a professional news cameraman, activist and news stringer (he has worked with many major networks as well as Discovery Channel and National Geographic) has volunteered to help provide training in this area. With funding we could procure equipment for this as well as adding online live streaming and fully interactive coverage of events.

• Re-design of the website for a more user friendly experience and to handle more content.

• Expanded coverage. More news items, with an improved responsiveness to what YOU want covered. We could even add a hotline number for breaking news with rapid response and coverage of events.

• Some weeks VIB receives 4, 5, 6 or more requests to cover community events. Considering that we all have day jobs, it's just not possible to cover everything. But funding would certainly allow us to do much more.

• A contribution based model, without advertising, allows us to remain free of potential conflicts of interest inherent in advertising based media especially on the micro-local level.

VIB started with a focus concentrated on one or two issues, but our continued expansion into coverage of a broad range of news, information and opinion in Vallejo seems a logical direction especially in light of the strong increase we have seen in readership and interest. Considering the long tenure of the Vallejo Times Herald as the city's only newspaper, and it's woefully inadequate performance over the years, the need for a dynamic citizen based press seems critical. Like so many services in Vallejo, we must often depend on ourselves to get the job done.

While VIB is not a non-profit organization (donations are not tax deductible), we intend to conduct our finances with a great deal of transparency. VIB will disclose how much has been contributed and what it has or will be spent on. We will however, keep the names of contributors private. Input is also welcome from our supporters regarding which expenditures should get priority. Tell us how you want VIB to grow and we'll do our best to listen.

Thank you for your support.

Marc Garman—Editor VIB