Things are getting REAL

To all our friends out there,

We are confident that you understand what an invaluable resource ACMi is to the community of Arlington:

• We are the sole source of coverage for school sports, concerts, and performances;
• our weekly newscast has been recognized as the best in the country for two years running;
• we have trained hundreds of residents (maybe you too!) in all aspects of video production; and
• we transmit a remarkable amount of important information, from government meetings (283 hours in 2023!) to public forums to biweekly Town Updates.

You may not understand, however, how we are funded. Our income does not come from taxes that Arlington residents pay, but rather from a fee that is part of cable subscribers’ monthly bills. On average, ACMi receives $7/month per cable household in Arlington.

The urgent concern is that every year more people choose to cancel their cable subscriptions, resulting in a dramatic drop in our annual revenues. Unfortunately, the effects of our reduced funding are already being felt, including a painful decision we have reluctantly made – we are shutting down our Studio B facility at 108 Summer St.

With this closure, Arlington students will lose the only facility exclusively dedicated to providing training in video production to youth for more than 10 years. We remain wholly committed to maintaining our youth programs, but we will have to rely on locations in Arlington public schools to do so. Our main studio at 85 Park Ave will remain fully operational.

At ACMi, we want very much for this to be the end of the bad news. We want to continue to provide all the value we have for the Arlington community, and in fact our fondest hope is to do even MORE if possible! But for that to happen, we first need to stay in business.

We are turning to YOU to help us raise our goal of $60,000. There are several ways that you can help support us. One way is through Patreon. For $7 (or more) per month, you can directly support ACMi and join a community of people who want to keep community media around. You can also donate through any of the options available at acmi.tv/donate.

Please consider making a generous donation, and remember, we can only continue to do what we do with your support!