Transparency

Funding Policy

We believe transparency about how we are funded is essential to building trust with readers and the organisations we hold to account.

How we are funded

English Vanguard is funded primarily through reader memberships, individual donations, and limited sponsorship arrangements.
Our Supporter (£5/month) and Patron (£50/month) memberships provide a sustainable base of independent funding that is not tied to any single advertiser or institutional donor.
We may also accept grants from foundations that support public interest journalism, provided those grants come with no editorial conditions.
We publish this funding policy so that readers, sources, and the institutions we report on understand how our work is resourced.

Supporters, donors, and sponsors do not influence editorial decisions. No contributor, whether giving £5 or £50 per month, receives preferential treatment in our coverage.
Story selection, reporting, editing, and publication decisions are made solely by our editorial team based on public interest, evidence, and our editorial standards.
We do not accept funding that requires us to cover specific topics favourably, suppress criticism, or grant access in exchange for payment.

Any sponsor or advertiser is clearly identified and kept separate from our news reporting.
Sponsored content, if published, is clearly labelled as such and does not appear in news sections or alongside investigative reporting.
Advertisers and sponsors have no input into story selection, reporting, or editorial tone.

Donations do not buy coverage or preferential treatment. We do not publish stories at the request of donors, nor do we suppress stories that may be unfavourable to contributors.
Membership benefits, such as briefings, events, and ad-free access, are designed to inform and engage supporters, not to grant editorial influence.
We do not offer 'pay to publish' arrangements under any circumstances.

All staff and regular contributors are required to disclose financial interests, organisational affiliations, and personal relationships that could create a conflict of interest.
Where a conflict exists, the individual is recused from relevant coverage. Where a potential conflict cannot be avoided, we disclose it to readers.
We do not accept gifts, payments, or favours from subjects of our reporting that could compromise independence or create the appearance of bias.
Our editorial standards govern how we handle sourcing, verification, and corrections, regardless of who funds our work.