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It was the summer of 2016. The world, including our own city, was obsessed with the presidential campaign. But there was relatively little local attention on San Francisco’s own issues like homelessness, the housing crisis, and street safety. Not enough coverage. Not enough voices. Not enough urgency. So we decided to start our own publication.
We launched The Frisc three years ago to share voices and tell stories about a city in flux. You might even say “in crisis.”
You can certainly say “in crisis” now. With COVID-19 punishing the media business along with everyone else, those local stories and voices are more necessary than ever.
We’ve been filling that need with articles, features, and photo essays, all obsessively focused on San Francisco. Here’s how we assess our impact:
The Frisc has, in short order, become a recognized publication for thought leadership on SF’s twin crises of housing and homelessness.
The Frisc has brought to the fore issues of race and class affecting our city’s public schools.
The Frisc has put a spotlight on local and bureaucratic obstacles to better transit and safer streets.
The Frisc has pivoted quickly to cover the city’s response and our citizens’ lives in the coronavirus era.
Most important, all through this, The Frisc has fought for the kind of San Francisco that is inclusive, diverse, innovative, affordable, and creative, and against the San Francisco that is cynical, sclerotic, and divisive, fearful of change in its makeup, politics, and culture.
On the business end, we accept tax-deductible donations via our nonprofit fiscal sponsor Independent Arts & Media. We’re not reliant on invasive advertising or profit-driven investors. We’re not beholden to any interest group or political movement. No sense in mincing words: We need you, our readers, to pitch in and fund our work.
Help us broaden the conversation that our city deserves. With every story, we strive to give you the big picture — the civic good, the urban fabric, what it means to be here now, either in the current extraordinary circumstances—or, in more “normal” times, as you teach or raise kids, run a small business, make art, fight over housing, or just try to get to work in one piece.
Your donations matter. Since we began accepting reader support in early 2019, you have helped us pay writers like Andrea Powell to explore the reluctance of progressives to challenge Mayor London Breed’s re-election; like Sherri Eng, who took us for a bay swim at the Dolphin Club, where members are fighting over tech access; and like Diego Aguilar-Canabal and Kristi Coale, who have contributed crucial and insightful coronavirus reporting on criminal justice, transportation, and homelessness.
Your support allowed us to offer Yonah Freemark, a high-profile urban planner, a space to rebut antigrowth advocates who were misrepresenting his work and using it to fight state legislation proposed by San Francisco’s Scott Wiener. Freemark’s piece drew accolades in urbanist circles across the city, state, and country — even abroad.
We’ve done all this on a shoestring. Imagine what we can do with more writers, more resources, and more support.
Yes, The Frisc is a play on “Frisco” — the nickname generations of San Franciscans have been taught to abhor. We chose it precisely because we don’t hew to tired, parochial, precious views of our beloved city. Call it whatever the hell you want — then help make sure the changes we experience are for the better. Be engaged, vote, volunteer, pick up trash in the park or on the beach. Say hello to the person six feet away from you, even if you’re wearing a mask.
One of the best comments we’ve heard in three years of reporting in the city was from a man who attended an ugly, chaotic meeting last year for a proposed homeless Navigation Center. After the shouting and jeering were over, he approached an outreach official and asked, “What can I do to help?”
So tell us: What do you want to see covered? What’s your voice, your story? What can we do to help? We look forward to hearing from you: thefrisc AT gmail.com.
Alex Lash
Anthony Lazarus
Jeremy LaCroix
EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE POLICY
The Frisc will not accept donations from any individual or organization that compromises our editorial independence. All gifts, grants, and donations fund general operations and editorial coverage. Receipt of a financial contribution does not constitute endorsement of a donor or a donor’s position.
All editorial decisions are controlled by our editorial staff. We don’t let donors assign, edit, or review stories before publication.
We are nonpartisan. We do not endorse candidates for political office or ballot measures. Our stories, reports, and analyses strive to promote civic engagement, accountability, and discourse.
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY POLICY
We accept tax-deductible donations via our 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, Independent Arts & Media of San Francisco, which does not direct or influence The Frisc’s editorial decisions other than the stipulation that we follow all relevant nonprofit rules. IAM charges a fee for processing donations to The Frisc. You can find IAM’s 990 form here.
We pledge to identify all donors of $5,000 or more:
- Helen and Thomas Merigan Charitable Trust
- Roz and Ron Levaco
- The Miami Foundation
We pledge that no more than 5% of our annual budget will come from anonymous donations.