Documenters on Duty
August 31 - September 4, 2026
Your elected officials are making big decisions. The Chicago Documenters are keeping tabs on them with regular notes, real-time social media updates, and multimedia reports
How can you thank the over 1,200 trained Chicago Documenters for the people-powered, community-based journalism they give our fair city? Join the Documenters on Duty campaign with a gift of any amount. This week only, NewsMatch will match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to $5,000!
Chicago Documenters–and the 6,000+Documenters in 25 cities the national Documenters Network—are rebuilding the trust that is missing in media and institutions today. 80% of Chicago Documenters said their experience has made them more civically engaged, and reported impact from the personal to the systemic:
"I'm a pandemic grad, and I worked remotely as a data scientist for five years. In many ways, Documenters brought me in-person again. I've documented police district council and police board meetings, pretrial detention hearings, and soon, will have interviewed a CPS teacher about the upcoming school board elections. How I live in this city and how I approach civic transparency activism have changed irrevocably and for the better because of Documenters.”
“I love that I am able to provide a valuable service and learn about how government works by taking notes. I feel more empowered to solve issues in my community.”
Your gift supports our efforts to equip and pay Documenters who attend public meetings and share knowledge that strengthens their communities. Plus, with the help of NewsMatch, every donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to $5,000! Together, we can make sure all communities across Chicago have access to the information they need to thrive.