Noise Sells Out

Noise is financially unsustainable.

As we briefly mentioned in our Q&A a few weeks ago, Noise is currently funded completely out-of-pocket by the paper’s editors. Our paper has no sponsors, grant funding or corporate backing.

This isn’t a model that can exist for the long term. It locks out future editors who don’t have the disposable income to run a student publication out of pocket, which goes against our philosophy that Noise is a paper for all students. It also prevents us from scaling the project to accommodate more students and produce print editions, as well as the dozens of other goals we aim to achieve with Noise.

While our expenses are currently extremely low (in the double digits as of April 2024), our project is scaling to the point where we are limited in our ability to fund it directly. As such, Noise is selling itself out to the students of UNSW with the launch of our OpenCollective page.

Why you should give us money

Put simply, Noise, in the long term, won’t survive without it. Future editors and coordinators should be elected based on their merit for the role, not whether they can afford to run the project. 

By putting your money in Noise’s pocket, you’re publicly proclaiming that independent reporting is something you believe in and that you’re willing to put your money where your mouth is. It shows the wider community that UNSW students believe in student journalism as a form of activism.

To be clear: if you cannot afford to give us money, don’t. Students are under enough financial pressure as it is, and this is funding for the long term. 

We are also exploring our options with the University regarding SSAF funding for Noise, in a similar manner to most other student publications. Major student publications in Australia receive upwards of 50,000 dollars in funding, with some receiving closer to 200 grand a year, and we aren’t asking for anywhere near that.

Why OpenCollective?

The main motivations behind using OpenCollective, as opposed to Patreon or similar platforms, are transparency and independence. As the driving motivation of this entire project, we believe that this platform aligns most with our paper’s goals.

OpenCollective is designed around transparency in funding. That means anyone can see exactly how much we spend and what we spend it on. It makes our approvals and expenditures process extremely visible, meaning it’s much more difficult for an individual editor to spend money on things that don't benefit students without being seen.

OpenCollective also maintains the level of financial independence that a paper like ours needs, without the logistics and financial hurdles of setting up bank accounts and payment portals. We control the flow of funds, while someone else (Open Collective) manages the financial reporting and tax requirements.

Where & how will the money be spent?

We have an expense policy which outlines exactly what Noise editors can and can’t spend money on.

Expenses must be clearly related to the operations of Noise@UNSW. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Static Operating Costs (such as website & email server upkeep, and domain renewal),
- Pre-approved event ticket costs (such as NatCon, National Student Summit, etc),
- Limited travel costs directly relating to Noise operations,
- Licensing (such as stock graphics/audio/video),
- Hiring of equipment for Noise operations (such as cameras for cover images).

In the same manner as publishing, all expenses must be approved by 2 other editors. Additionally, approval is needed from either one of the Coordinators, treasurers, or secretaries of the organisation.

Explicitly forbidden expenses include:
- The purchase of alcohol for ANY purpose,
- Temporary loans from the organisation,
- Travel costs to and from UNSW Kensington or Paddington campuses for any Noise Editorial Team member,
- Any of the REJECTED CATEGORIES (adult websites, affiliate/review services, casinos & gambling, financial products, pharmaceutical products (including drugs), SEO/Social Media Buying services, AI text/image/video generation services or software).

Additionally, every expense has a comments section, where anyone can request more information about a specific purchase or expense, as we believe it's every UNSW student's right to know what's going on with our project, especially as it becomes funded by their money.

We hope that you consider donating to our project, and look forward to providing more high-quality journalism to UNSW students.