What exactly is OKO.press and who stands behind it?

Today is the #DaywithoutOKO. We are not publishing any new articles, and instead the whole team is focusing on fundraising. Why? In short: we are independent, both from the government and from advertisers, and would like to remain so. Moreover, all of our articles can be accessed freely: we are financed only by voluntary donations of our readers. Our business model is thus a brave and a delicate one. This is why we need your help to continue our work.

What is OKO.press and why Poland needs it right now?

OKO.press was born on the 15th of June 2016, as an initiative of journalists concerned with the fate of democracy and media in Poland ruled by Law and Justice (PiS). We got our start-up money from Polityka Sp. z.o.o. S.K.A., Agora Holding Sp. z.o.o (linked with "Gazeta Wyborcza"), and from a private person. We just turned 18 months old!

We published over 3500 articles, including video materials, which were turned into two documentaries: "Rodeo" and "The Bialowieza Forest. We are here".

What do we do on daily basis? We denounce lies and manipulations of politicians; we publish investigative materials; we analyze actions of the government (in a critical, yet objective manner) and of the opposition; we monitor public expenses; we commission our own opinion polls.

We are present during civic protests and trials against opposition activists. Through our honest and thorough reporting we defend human rights of the citizens and residents of Poland.

We are a team of 20 people:

• 15 journalists, including 5 editors
• 5 people working in administration, graphic design and social media

Most of our staff was born in the 80s and the 90s.In 2016 our deputy editor-in-chief, Bianka Mikolajewska, was named the Journalist of the Year in the Grand Press contest.

How do we spend your money?

Our monthly budget: 132 500 zloty (around 33 000 euros), including:

• journalists' salaries: 62 000 zl (15 500 euros)
• external authors: 9500 zl (around 2375 euros)
• graphic and video materials: 16 500 zl (around 4000 euros)
• opinion polls 8000 zl (around 2000 euros)
• administration, fundraising, social media, legal services: 20 500 zl (5125 euros)
• IT: 16 000 zl (4000 euros)

We work hard (and we love it), our salaries are less than Warsaw average (which we love a bit less). In our office we are rather stingy, we save on everything we can. We respect money of our fellow citizens.

Account details for transfers from abroad:

Foundation "Ośrodek Kontroli Obywatelskiej OKO"

BIC (SWIFT) – BIGBPLPW PL 92 1160 2202 0000 0003 0434 1595 Bank Millennium

ul. Madalińskiego 73/75 lok. 1 02-549 Warszawa, Poland

OR click here to DONATE WITH PAYPAL