Minnesota Women’s Press is sustained by:
- Supporting members
- Underwriters that support specific topics for digital and sometimes print stories
- Newsletter, website, and print advertisers (learn more)
- Content- and audience-specific grants
- Donations for overhead support (see below)
FAQ
What makes Minnesota Women’s Press unique?
- We offer first-person narratives, working with everyday people to share personal stories and perspectives in their own voice. We also offer reporting to provide context and connect dots between diverse perspectives.
- We are the longest continuously run feminist publication in the country.
- More than half of our writers each year are from marginalized communities.
- We visit Greater Minnesota communities to find perspectives that are not from the Twin Cities.
- We have been recognized by the statewide media association, a national domestic violence organization, and a national independent publisher coalition for our excellence in community engagement around the topic of gender-based violence.
Why do people join our statewide community?
When we tested the membership model, a St. Catherine’s University team conducted focus groups to learn why our loyal readers would support membership:
- Support coverage I don’t see elsewhere (74%)
- Connect with others involved in like-minded issues (47%)
- Access special events (38%)
- Share action alerts (36%)
The mission: Connecting engaged feminists who care about solutions and action.
Why does Minnesota Women’s Press need membership dollars?
We lost a sizable number of small-business advertisers during the pandemic, and have not been able to keep up with expenses. Many print publications have closed in the last few years. We remain open because of loyal advertisers (some of them with us more than 20 years), content underwriters, and members who donate to our story development budget.
Every month the magazine spends at least $25K on salaries, business loan, magazine printing, distribution to hundreds of free locations, and overhead. Since the pandemic, we have averaged about $20K per month in advertising. To sustain the business, we need to increase other revenue streams — membership is key to make up the gap.
How are Changemakers Alliance and Minnesota Women’s Press connected?
In 2020, with the mutual aid efforts during the pandemic and aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, we realized that a monthly print publication was not enough to serve engaged readers who care about social justice issues. Changemakers Alliance launched to focus on a few ongoing core topics, with solutions and action steps. We launched membership in September 2023 to support current-issues storytelling that extends beyond what print advertising can support.
Is Minnesota Women’s Press a nonprofit?
The publication was formed in 1985 as a for-profit, because its founders wanted to change the idea that women’s work is for volunteers. Although the recession of 2008, and the pandemic, have required changes in order to survive, we still adhere to the for-profit policy that creates value around the work of women who create community change.
Advertisers and underwriters support the work of the magazine and website. Thanks to our relationship with the Local Media Association as fiscal sponsor, we have been able since 2023 to generate revenue from grants and sizable donations to support Changemakers Alliance.
Membership enables us to develop and distribute the online content series we uniquely offer.
Become a memberOverhead Support
Securely tracked on the PayPal platform
DonateSupport the Minnesota Women’s Press LLC operating expenses (not tax deductible) — payroll, business loan, website development and hosting — with a contribution.
If you prefer to pay by:
Check (with MWP Donation in memo)
Minnesota Women’s Press, Attn: Fariba
P.O. Box 8137
St. Paul, MN. 55108
Credit card: Contact Fariba by email
For 2025 coverage, Minnesota Women’s Press earned a community leadership award, three photography awards, and four editorial awards, including for coverage of social issues and for our Spring 2025 “Know Your Rights” special section supported by Unidos MN. Our publisher was named Journalist of the Year by Violence Free Minnesota for gender-based violence coverage.
