Deeper Story - The Next Chapter

We're raising money to provide our readers with the next chapter of stories, content and community.

Deeper Story, a collaborative website of Christian storytellers, is coming up on its 4th year of publishing some of the best faith stories on the web. With over 60 writers contributing daily across three different channels, it's become the go-to place for honest, vulnerable writing on issues of faith, culture, family and church. 

It's also a massive undertaking. With a large, varied readership comes a lot of traffic. And with more traffic comes slower load times, hosting issues, troubleshooting and usability problems. 

We've listened to you, our readers and community over the last year and a half - since our last redesign and site restructure. You've told us the site doesn't work well, it's confusing, and it doesn't load right. You've told us it's hard to find what you're looking for, that you wish it was easier to see all of the content.

We've listened to our writers. They've told us that they wish they could write about other things, not just the topics they're "assigned." They wish we were all one group, instead of three. 

We've listened. 

We hear you.

And we agree, it's time for a change.

We have hired the team at Cross & Crown, a web design firm to come in and combine the Deeper Story network of three channels into one fully-functional, fully-responsive magazine-style site, complete with better hosting and a mobile site included. It'll work seamlessly with our content, it'll be easy to navigate, and it'll load quickly. You'll be able to find what you're looking for easily, and you'll be able to see all of the content under one roof, so to speak, instead of having to go to three separate sites. Our writers will be free to tell the stories that they feel compelled to share, without the boundary of a particular topic, or category. We'll all be one writer team, rather than three separate teams. 

However, it comes at a high cost.

Hosting a website like Deeper Story currently costs about $110/month. Redesigning & overhauling a website like Deeper Story to have easy usability for readers and a fully responsive site (including mobile & tablet-friendly) costs around $3000. 

Up to now, everything about Deeper Story has been paid out-of-pocket by Nish Weiseth, the Editor-in-Chief and founder, and her family - including hosting costs, troubleshooting, and past redesigns. 

The writers of Deeper Story contribute their work without pay. The editorial team contributes their time and talent on a volunteer basis. There hasn't been advertising at Deeper Story, with the goal & hope of content being the focus. 

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So, we're coming to you, our community of readers and fellow sojourners, to humbly ask for help. 

We're hoping to crowd-source the money to complete the site redesign and pay for hosting for the next two years. 

Our hope and goal is to continue to provide the community with our best content, to provide a safe space for readers and writers to discuss ideas & difficult topics, and for our community to continue to strengthen around the common, ageless language of storytelling. 

If you're among the first to contribute to the cause, we have some cool rewards for you! Make sure you take a look below!

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We are so grateful that you continue to read and share the stories that are told at Deeper Story. There wouldn't be a community without you. 

Will you, our readers, help us move forward into the next chapter?

With all our love and gratitude to you, 

The Deeper Story Team

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FUNDRAISING REWARDS!

Pledge $25 or more

• The first 50 people who donate $25: A handwritten thank-you note  from members of the Deeper Story team.

Pledge $100 or more

• The first 10 people who donate $100: A one-hour Google Hangout session with a Deeper Story contributor to talk about writing and blogging.

Pledge $150 or more

• The first five people who donate $150: A published Deeper Story author will read and critique your book proposal over a Google Hangout session.

Pledge $200 or more

• The first 2 people who donate $200: A hardcover copy of "The Best of Deeper Story," a collection of our best posts over the last 4 years, selected by the editors. (Ships only in the US)