How Squirrel News turned five
Dear readers and friends,
We have something to celebrate: this summer, Squirrel News turns five years old! To mark the occasion, we’d like to take a quick look back at how it all began and the key developments since then.
An unexpected beginning
The founding of Squirrel News wasn’t exactly planned – certainly not in the summer of 2019. I was still in the middle of parental leave, juggling the daily demands of life with two small children, when my job unexpectedly ended. Suddenly, I had to figure out what to do next.
Starting something of my own had always appealed to me. But doing it so spontaneously, without a team, right in the thick of life? That was hardly a well-thought-out plan. Still, the desire to stay involved in solutions-focused journalism was stronger – along with the belief that the world needed a platform that regularly offers a thorough selection of high-quality constructive news.
Launching in a global crisis
Setting up a nonprofit was bureaucratically tricky but doable. To find like-minded people, I simply posted a few calls for help on online forums. Not long after, we had a small team: a reporter and a retired editor-in-chief for our German edition, three native speakers for our English edition, and a full-stack developer who immediately began building our app.
In cheerful naivety, we planned to launch in March 2020. Then COVID hit. Schools and daycare centres shut down, daily routines collapsed, and everything ground to a halt. Just as things seemed to improve, our poor developer broke his arm – on his birthday, no less!
Eventually, Squirrel News went live that summer. And by fall and winter, German public TV and radio outlets were covering us. Suddenly, a relevant number of people knew about Squirrel News – reading it, appreciating it, and even supporting it financially.
Positive feedback, global challenges
The feedback has always been positive, often even enthusiastic. But the world didn’t slow down. First, the pandemic continued to disrupt daily routines, then Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine followed soon after, bringing war back to Europe when we were hoping for progress, peace, and sustainability. And, of course, the list doesn’t stop there. But probably that’s exactly why a project like ours is needed: to offer a steady counterweight to the stream of apocalyptic headlines.
Despite it all, we’ve never run out of constructive stories. Sure, there are tough days. But again and again, we’re amazed by the creative solutions people come up with and all the answers to problems that once seemed unsolvable.
We may not be rich, but we’re still here
Sourcing, selecting, filtering, organising, rewriting, publishing, and distributing these stories is far more work than it might appear. And unfortunately, AI still isn’t advanced enough to do most of it for us. But the number of people supporting Squirrel News with recurring donations has steadily grown over the past five years. Thanks to you, our financial foundation is now solid enough to keep going for the long haul.
Getting off the ground is always the hardest part – especially when you consciously choose to avoid major sponsors and adopt a nonprofit model that doesn’t attract traditional investors. But that also means we’ve remained free of the obligations or debts that could sink a project like ours. Many startups in recent years have gone under due to rising interest rates or worsening economic conditions. Journalistic startups in particular have faced extreme challenges, with many forced to shut down.
We’ve managed to avoid all of that. We may not be rich, but we’re still here. And most days, our work still lifts our spirits. In addition, we also launched several new partnerships that have helped Squirrel News and its content reach a much wider audience.
Squirrel News in the workplace, meaning in people’s lives
Recently, our news was featured on large screens in the German sales office of a major printer manufacturer. Thanks to another partnership, we now reach tens of thousands of people every week on Instagram. And from time to time, we host workshops on media literacy and the impact of media consumption on mental health.
Of course, our regular readers are already familiar with the impact Squirrel News has. But even we were surprised – and proud – when, in a reader survey two years ago, nearly all of the 400+ participants said Squirrel News not only helps them better understand the news, but also helps to make sense of the world.
The editor-in-chief of a major Christian magazine even remarked that churches could only dream of such feedback. But we don’t see these things as mutually exclusive. We’re genuinely thrilled that our team is helping meet such an important need – and bringing more attention to the good happening in the world.
To all those who have supported us so far and continue to do so: thank you once more!
We’re taking a short break this week to make sure our own (mental) health stays intact, too. After that, we’ll be back with our regular editions, as always.
Warm regards,
Jonathan and the entire Squirrel News team
