“I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers.”
—Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire”
The Active Age is more fortunate than Tennessee William’s famous character, Blanche DuBois. This publication has depended on the best kind of friend — its readers — for support since its inception in 1979.
Early last year, even that seemed like it might not be enough.
Rising postage costs and a temporary downturn in advertising were causing us to rack up monthly operating deficits that had our small staff and board of directors wondering what to do.
A nonprofit organization like ours isn’t supposed to make a lot of money, but it can’t lose money forever, either.
Two things happened to reverse the trend. Working with the U.S. Postal Service, we figured out a way to tighten our distribution and make sure The Active Age is only mailed each month to readers who want it. I’m thankful to a savvy local businessman for pushing us in that direction.
And readers donated as never before: a record $175,827 to be exact. At year’s end, we were a few thousand dollars in the black.
This support has left us thankful, humbled and determined to keep bringing you the best publication we can, for as long as we can.
If you enjoy The Active Age and want to see it continue, there are a couple of ways you can help:
• Let us know what you like and don’t like about the publication, call or email me with story ideas, encourage others to subscribe if you think they’d benefit. All these things help us fulfill our mission.
• Support our advertisers and tell them you saw their ads in The Active Age. Advertisers provide about two-thirds of our revenue in a typical year. As the largest print publication in Kansas, we think we provide them a good value. But they’ll believe it even more coming from you.
• If you’re able, consider making a contribution to The Active Age. Help from friends is vital to The Active Age.
After all, if you recall “Streetcar,” Blanche’s reliance on strangers doesn’t work out too well.
For all the staff, board and volunteers at The Active Age, thank you for an amazing 2025, and here’s wishing you the best in 2026.
Contact Joe Stumpe at joe@theactiveage.com or (316) 942-5385.
