To keep arts journalism independent and alive

Can you help give theartsdesk.com a future?

We have just marked our 15th anniversary, but we urgently need assistance to be able to continue.

We are a small but sturdy hub of British cultural life, a cog in the eco-system which keeps the arts, at all levels, functioning healthily. But, we have been running on a shoestring. We never have necessary funds to invest in strengthening and rebuilding as times change. We need financing to flourish, most of all to rebuild our now failing

technical architecture, and to put in place systems that provide a foundation for our self-sufficient survival.

Without this, we will have to close in the very near future. This would be a depressing outcome. For us, of course, but also for the UK arts scene.

In autumn 2009 a disparate team of arts and culture writers started theartsdesk.com, a collective enthused by the prospect of fighting against the terrible (now worse) decline in arts coverage. The journey since has been exhilarating but hard. We have published a huge quantity of fantastic writing, thousands of pieces a year, covering the

breadth of artistic life; theatre, film, TV, music (classical, pop, opera, rock, club sounds, avant-garde - the whole lot!), ballet, books, comedy and much else. We have supported great artists at all points in their careers. We are proud to offer a level playing field where all art forms are given the respect and rigorous examination they deserve.

To rebuild and survive, we must raise £100,000. We already have a solid offline pledge to the value of £30,000. Please can you contribute?