Consider The Rural Blog and its publisher for one of your year-end charitable donations

Today is Giving Tuesday, a relatively new observance aimed at creating an international day of giving to charitable causes. The Rural Blog and its publisher usually ask for help near the end of each year, so we're asking a little earlier this year in the hope that you will find a place for us as you reflect on the causes you would like to support.

The Rural Blog is published by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based at the University of Kentucky, with academic partners at 25 universities in 17 states. The institute's mission is to help rural journalists define the public agenda in their communities through strong reporting and commentary, especially on broad issues that have a local impact but few good local sources of information. For the institute's five-year strategic plan, click here.

The institute is supported by an endowment at the university, which accepts online donations. To make an online donation, click on this link: https://uky.networkforgood.com/causes/7981-institute-of-rural-journalism-and-community-issues-endowed-fund. The endowment's return rate to us, based on a three-year rolling average, is 3.5 percent. If you want to make a gift with more immediate impact, make out a check to the university, put "Rural Journalism, operating" on the memo line and mail it to us at 122 Grehan Journalism Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington KY 40506-0042.

Thanks for whatever you can do. At a time when audiences are being asked to pay more for journalism, so it can remain robust in the service of democracy, we hope you will find The Rural Blog and its publisher worthy of your support.