We are excited to share some good news as we start off 2026: The Sick Times had a successful end-of-year fundraiser! Thank you to everyone who donated, shared, gave us feedback, or otherwise contributed to our campaign.
While we did not quite meet our overall goal, we raised over $50,000 in direct donations from readers. And we are set to receive the maximum available matching funds from the Institute for Nonprofit News’ NewsMatch program and from generous Sick Times readers who chipped in.
We also had nearly 100 readers become Supporters by setting up new monthly donations. These donations are vital for our sustainability going forward, as we know we can count on these readers to help keep our work freely available for everyone.
Overall, your support during this fundraiser will allow us to continue operating at a similar level to our work in 2025, despite the conclusion of our start-up grant from the Kanro fund last fall. Your support also allows us to hire a new team member — we open applications for that position today!
Our end-of-year fundraiser will bring us nearly $100,000, including:
- $51,400 in direct donations from readers;
- $17,500 in matching funds from NewsMatch and the Philanthropic Access Partner Fund;
- $23,500 in matching funds from Sick Times readers: Eli Dickinson and Katherine Zambon, the Funtara Fund, and an anonymous supporter;
- $4,000 in bonuses from NewsMatch.
These funds allow us to continue delivering independent Long COVID news and commentary, and to keep expanding on the ways we share information and ideas.
What we plan to do in 2026:
- Hire a new podcast and social media producer, to revive our weekly podcast, Still Here, produce videos for our social media channels, and assist with other editorial tasks. Find more details about the role on our website, and apply by January 20!
- Continue publishing news and commentary stories from freelance writers. We’re currently taking pitches for the first half of 2026, and already have some exciting stories lined up. See our pitch guidelines here.
- Keep closely following U.S. government actions on Long COVID and related diseases, especially actions from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER program, which is set to launch new clinical trials this year. (If you have tips for us, reach out at editors@thesicktimes.org.)
- Publish more deep dives on clinical trials and pathobiology research, expanding on last year’s series about promising trials and study design. We’re also exploring new ways of sharing complex scientific information with readers.
- More virtual events! We’re considering more town halls with our team, Q&As with notable figures in the Long COVID community, options for readers to meet each other, and more. If you have ideas for virtual events, reach out!
- Keep working on sustainability. We’ll continue to pursue grants, sponsorships, and other funding opportunities so that we can keep delivering independent journalism for a long time. We have already secured one major sponsor for 2026, which you will start seeing in our newsletter next week.
We will update our financial transparency page in the coming weeks with our latest budget information and donation disclosures. The Sick Times is a fiscally sponsored project of a 501c3 nonprofit, the MuckRock Foundation.
At a time when many journalists are facing layoffs and budget cuts, we are honored to continue our work serving the Long COVID and infection-associated chronic condition communities. With your support, we’ll keep reminding the rest of the mainstream media landscape that the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, and that Long COVID is a global public health crisis.
For those who donated, keep an eye on your mailbox in the coming weeks for a token of our appreciation!
