Community rallies behind Plymouth Independent, raising $774,153

FROM THE PLYMOUTH INDEPENDENT BOARD

The Plymouth Independent received an enormous vote of support from the community Saturday, Sept. 26, when 275 guests joined businesses, donors, sponsors and volunteers at its inaugural Freedom of the Press Gala, which a nor’easter had forced to relocate just four days earlier.

The gala raised $774,153, with a live auction led by auctioneer Harry Santa-Olalla bringing in $249,000, an appeal during the evening generating another $172,000 and a silent auction adding $34,000. Ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and matching funds accounted for the rest.

Rye Tavern, owned by Ellis and Jen Withington, served as presenting sponsor, and businesses and supporters throughout Plymouth and the region donated dozens of auction items, including luxury travel experiences.

“On behalf of the board, I want to thank every donor, sponsor, volunteer and guest who made Saturday possible,” said Patrick Flaherty, treasurer of the Independent’s board of directors. “A nonprofit newsroom works only if the community decides it’s worth supporting. Plymouth made that decision loud and clear, and this support puts the Independent on solid footing to keep doing the work this town depends on.”

“We would not be here without the donors,” said Kelly Petti, the Independent’s Chief Development Officer, noting that 99 percent of every dollar raised goes directly to supporting journalism and related activities.

Boston Globe associate editor and columnist Shirley Leung served as emcee for the event. “In just three short years, the Independent has become indispensable,” Leung said. “It’s hard to think of Plymouth without the Independent.” She cited the news site’s investigative and accountability reporting as well as its stories about local businesses, artists and cultural life, and said, “All the money we raise tonight is an investment in the truth.”

The program featured two of the nation’s most respected journalists: Marty Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post and The Boston Globe, and Walter Robinson, former editor of the Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Spotlight Team. Their work on the Globe’s investigation of clergy sexual abuse and its cover-up inspired the Academy Award-winning film Spotlight. The two discussed freedom of the press and the importance of journalism that holds powerful institutions accountable.

“The Gala’s phenomenal success is ample evidence that Plymouth residents understand the need for good local reporting and are willing to support it,” Robinson said.

“To see so many people come out to support an organization we were building from the foundation up less than three years ago was astounding and inspiring. The money raised and goodwill generated says a lot about Plymouth’s commitment to local news coverage,” said Mark Pothier, who left his position at the Boston Globe to become founding editor. 

The gala was originally planned for the oceanfront home of Ed and Ayli Gates, with cocktails in the estate’s historic carriage house and dinner on the waterfront grounds. Then, just four days before the gala, a looming nor’easter forced organizers to abandon the outdoor plan. Perhaps elsewhere, that would have meant a cancellation. Not in Plymouth, where a “mild” nor’easter wasn’t going to stop the festivities – or diminish the turnout.

The entire event moved to the Kingston Collection, where an empty indoor space was transformed in a matter of days. Petti was at the helm of the change of venue, accomplishing a mountain of work with a small crew of volunteers and local businesspeople.

“We could not have done this without the volunteers and the many businesspeople who stepped up and made that pivot possible,” Petti said.

She credited David Gilmore and the team at the Kingston Collection, who “could not have been more accommodating”; Jackie Studer of South Shore Event Solutions, who managed logistics; Heather Cronin of Northeast Tent Company, who “turned on a dime” to meet rental needs; David Long of ITS Audiovisual, who came through as the event moved indoors; and Lauren Warner and Chef’s Table, who accommodated every change on a few days’ notice. Setting the Space provided décor, Joevanny Cruz of Quinlan-Wasserman Wholesale Florist supplied flowers at cost, Cape Cod Coffee and Montilio’s donated items for guest bags, and volunteers pitched in on floral arrangements, the silent auction and countless other details. The Gateses, who had been preparing to welcome hundreds of guests to their home, shifted gears too, helping volunteers create table displays.

Drapes were flown in overnight from California, and by Saturday night little about the room suggested the event had been relocated only days earlier, or that it was taking place at a mall.

“Everybody shifted at once, like a flock of birds,” Petti said. “That’s what made it work.”

From all of us at the Plymouth Independent, thank you.