As most of you know, WitnessLA has embarked on a partnership with Spot.Us.com called the LA Justice Report. The partnership was formed to do some much needed investigative reporting into social justice issues affecting Los Angeles.
Each of the reports will be “community funded”—in other words, paid for by small donations from regular people.
However, for the next few days, you can support the joint WitnessLA and Spot.Us investigation into how the City of LA is spending its $25 million in gang prevention and intervention money. And you can help with that support at exactly zero cost to….well…you.
But we get five bucks for each one of you who takes 2 minutes to participate in answering four short questions anonymously for Spot.Us.
This is the second such chance at these “sponsored credits” that Spot.Us has offered through a system they are calling “community centered advertising.” (Poynter reports on the concept here.)
Here’s the deal:
In less than 2 minutes and 4 clicks you can get a free $5 credit that you can apply to the LA Justice Report. (Just follow the instructions in the box below).
We think our first project—which has working title of FOLLOW THE GANG MONEY—is particularly important to complete ASAP.
Just to remind you, Los Angeles is spending $25 million to lower gang violence (several million more if you count the city’s federal funds). But no one seems to be able to give a straight answer when asked what the city is actually getting for that money. What services are provided for all that cash? How many people are helped? Exactly how are they helped? Is that help doing any good?
(By the way, out of that $25 million—precisely zero dollars goes to Homeboy Industries, even though everyone at city hall knows that Homeboy is fighting for its life.)
Neither the LA Times or the Daily News has looked into the question of how the city uses its gang money. But LA Justice Report investigative reporter, Matt Fleischer is already hard at work on the project.
However we need your support.
Okay here are the instructions:
1. Go to Spot.Us and hit “register,” which you’ll find in the top left hand corner. (If you’ve previously registered, skip this step.)
2. After registering, click the large green button that says “Earn Credits”
3. Answer the quick questionnaire. (It’s four questions and painless. I just now did it.)
4. Your account now has $5 in credits and you’ll automatically be directed to a page that lists current Spot.Us projects. Click “Apply Credits” to The LA Justice Report.
And—like magic—we get $5 closer to our fundraising goal.
NOTE: If the software tries to talk you into giving an extra $20, just hit “remove.” (Unless, of course, you want to give us the $20.)
Okay, I’m done hectoring. Please just do it.