Hi Reader,

Here’s something you won’t find on ProPublica’s homepage: a long list of “top stories” of the day.

That’s because we don’t report what you already know. You can (and do) get that stuff from a ton of different sources that have well-oiled 24-hour news machines, and we know our resources are better spent providing journalism that you won’t get anywhere else.

ProPublica focuses on what we do best: publishing investigative journalism that’s well-researched, nonpartisan, fact-checked and devoted to revealing what’s going on behind the scenes with our elected officials, government institutions, big corporations and more.

One recent example is our series “The Secret IRS Files,” which explores how the ultrawealthy pay, or avoid having to pay, their taxes. For over a year, we’ve been investigating and publishing stories like this article that lays out 10 ways billionaires avoid getting hefty tax bills. Or this story that explains how GOP mega-donor and options trader Jeff Yass has avoided paying over $1 billion in taxes, or this one that shows exactly how Ken Griffin, the founder of the hedge fund company Citadel, spent $54 million to successfully defeat Illinois’ campaign for a graduated income tax, saving him millions in the long run.

Investigations like these are time-consuming and expensive. We’re able to produce this kind of journalism because of readers like you. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on donations from individuals for the majority of our funding. Today, I’m asking you to join ProPublica with a donation of any amount.

We’re halfway through our fall member drive, and we’ve heard from hundreds of members so far. We still need to hear from you. Our members’ financial support gives us a dependable source of funding, and that matters for an organization like ours — sometimes our investigations can take months or even years to fully report. We need folks like you to stand with us.

Give today and stand up for powerful journalism that shines a light on stories that make a real difference.

Thanks so much,
Jill Shepherd
Proud ProPublican