The nonprofit community website and blog – that’s Greenbelt Online! – has been improving and expanding its services to the community thanks to sponsors, and you see their logos all over the site. Now I’m happy to announce that these major sponsors have all renewed their support for 2022, so we all thank them!

But I want to mention some of the people behind the logos and corporate entities.

• Dr. Clayton McCarl encouraged me in this endeavor early and often. In this photo he’s all hazmatted-up to see patients during the pandemic. We all hope to see his actual face again soon!
• And Kim Kash is so much more than that minimalist logo would reveal. For instance, she’s co-owner of the exciting new partnership that bought and spruced up a nearly-empty office building in Roosevelt Center, renamed it the Granite Building after the family doctor who practiced there for decades, and filled it with happy tenants. The facility is hopping, adding some needed life to the center of Old Greenbelt. (Granite Building story here.)
• And the Beltway Plaza Mall’s man-about-Greenbelt and perennial supporter of good causes in our community is Kap Kapistan, seen above during the 2019 ceremony installing Caitlin McGrath on the Mall’s Hall of Fame. (He’s seen here with Caitlin’s children.)

These are all examples of the happy fact that Greenbelt is a small town, where local companies and professionals are known to us, and some even support the media – whether it’s this site or the News Review, or both.

A Pause in Fund-Raising

I did no fund-raising in 2020 or 2021 because the pandemic created so many more dire needs for residents, but during that time this site continued to display logos and links crediting sponsors. Though it was a 2-year “grace period” for donations, simply displaying sponsors’ logos and names continued to lend legitimacy to the site.

Greenbelt Online During 2020 and 2021 – Report to Sponsors

Here’s an update on the progress and activities during the pandemic.

The lack of fund-raising during covid had little or no effect on this site because with the dearth of events to cover, I postponed buying ads about events and focused instead on promoting the site and all its contents to Greenbelt residents by buying ads in the News Review. They were paid for with a $1,000 Maryland Milestones grant matched 100% by donations, with the grant also covering graphic and web design help for a much-improved look.

In 2020 and 2021, instead of covering events, GB Online published content like:

• Collecting for posterity the stories of Greenbelters’ responses to the pandemic, which will all be archived by the Greenbelt Museum. (Here they are, so far🙂
• New guides: Birds of Greenbelt by Jamie Jorgensen and Composting in Greenbelt by Beth LeaMond and Hally Ahearn.
• A series of posts by Owen Kelley exploring and debunking claims about the proposed Maglev. (Here they are.)
• More day trips, especially covid-safe/safer ones. (Day Trip stories are here.)
• Gradually adding to the Arts Directory, which now has pages for 61 “Greenbelt Creatives.”
• Owen Kelley now has his own page on the site for his writings about maglev and the Greenbelt environment, and it’s possible that others could use the site in a similar way.

2021 Traffic

Traffic varied, up to 5,200 users per month and 7,800 page views per month.

Plans for 2022

Starting the first week in February when live music started back up, the site resumed weekly event round-ups for Greenbelt and nearby towns in Prince George’s, plus the twice-monthly events videos I’m making with GATe. (A fun and easy collaboration, thanks to Phoebe McFarb.)

And this year I’ll buy, test and track online ads about events in Greenbelt and nearby town via social media, and explore ads in small local papers that promote Greenbelt events.

Got Ideas?
We’re always exploring more ways this site can serve Greenbelt and would love your ideas, especially ways that local schools can use the site to publish text, photography or videos – or all three – made by students.

Funding in 2022 and the ASK
Contributions by the major sponsors (and by myself) easily cover the site’s operating costs, so YOUR donation will go toward:

• Increased advertising to spread the news of Greenbelt throughout the region, and to make more Greenbelters aware of this uniquely helpful resource.
• Exploring payment to guest authors or awarding prizes to winners of student contests.

I won’t be applying this year for grants again (the state’s Maryland Milestone program or others) because other organizations have more pressing needs. Plus, the application and reporting processes are pretty time-consuming – time I’d rather spend creating more good content on the site.

Your sponsorship in 2022, at any level, would be greatly appreciated and will again be displayed throughout the site for at least a year.

How to Donate

Greenbelt Online is a 501©(3) organization, so contributions are tax-deductible. Major Sponsors are donors of $500 or more and their logos are displayed throughout the site. “More Sponsors” are donors of $100 to $499 and their names and links are displayed throughout the site.

• Here’s the link to use PayPal.
• Donations may also be sent to 5J Ridge Road, Greenbelt 20770, with a check made out to Greenbelt Online.

And thank you!!