Thanks for reading this article from The Tyee. I hope it added something to your day. If we haven't met yet, The Tyee is an independent, non-profit news outlet based in Vancouver, B.C. We've been around since 2003 and our team publishes original in-depth articles every single weekday.

You are able to access all of The Tyee's articles — free of charge — because our non-profit newsroom is supported by thousands of supporters of independent journalism. We call them Tyee Builders, and they contribute an amount that works for them.

Why do we call them "Tyee Builders"? Because they literally help build The Tyee. As our reader contributions grow, we invest all of it back into more original journalism, and adding more talented researchers, writers and editors to our team.

Only about 1 per cent of people who regularly read The Tyee contribute financially, but amazingly, that’s enough to cover half of our total budget. Just 1 per cent of people chipping in means that the other 99 per cent get to enjoy open access to fact-based journalism published by a trusted, independent news organization.

Public interest journalism is vital for our democracy, but the sad truth is that newsrooms across Canada are struggling, and laying off more and more journalists each year. Support from our readers means that we can keep our newsroom staffed, resourced, and showing up every day with new original stories that you won't read anywhere else. It also means that we are accountable to you first, not shareholders (we don't have any) or corporate backers (we don't have any of those, either).

Be a part of making Canadian media better and join Tyee Builders today. You choose the amount and frequency you give, and you can cancel at any time.

— Jeanette Ageson, publisher

Didn't think so. We don't either.

We don’t work for a billionaire owner here at The Tyee. We work for you.

And we’re not at the mercy of hedge funds or corporations whose focus is on the next quarterly profit report.

We’re a nonprofit newsroom that is supported by our readers. We rely on your financial support for our journalism and recognize the importance of earning your trust.

Our mission is to publish original, in-depth journalism that adds to your understanding of your community, and we’re supported in that mission by our volunteer board of directors and around 10,000 paying supporters who we call Tyee Builders.

We don’t endorse politicians and we never will. It doesn’t fit with our mission and we’re not here to transmit the political wishes of a powerful owner.

Together with our readers, we’ve expanded our team of journalists, expanded our reach, and are showing a path forward for reader-funded journalism in Canada.

The billionaires have their media empires.

Please help us prove a different media model can succeed.

Help The Tyee grow and thrive as a news outlet that works for you by becoming a supporter today.

— Paul Willcocks, senior editor