Thanks for taking the time to read our Community Partnership FAQs. This page is meant as an explainer of what it means that the article you have just read has been produced in collaboration with a Community Partner.
A community partnership is a formal agreement we have with a local business to highlight them on the blogTO website and/or our social platforms in exchange for products and/or services provided by the local business to our team.
This results in us producing content in the form of articles, videos and/or social media posts.
The overwhelming majority of articles, videos and other content we produce is editorial content and is not paid for nor subject to any influence or control from anyone outside our core editorial team of writers, videographers, editors and other content creators.
For advertising and sponsored content, advertising partners pay for the content to be produced and have a chance to review the content before it's published to make sure it aligns with the messaging or information they want us to promote. This is a key way how we make money and are able to pay for expenses and the salaries of our staff.
All advertising and sponsored content on blogTO is clearly marked as paid content.
Community Partnerships are different and are usually based on longer-term agreements between us and the partner where we agree to support each other. We only strike agreements with Community Partners who align with our values and provide a product or service we endorse and feel our audience will be interested in.
Each Community Partnership is different but, in general, the content can be articles, videos, contests or social media content.
We will have discussions with each Community Partner about how we can best support them. We will only agree to pursue the content if we determine it's within our editorial scope and something we feel our audience will be interested in.
No. Community Partners do not create the content, nor do they edit it before it's published. Our team of writers, videographers, editors and content creators produce the content like they would any editorial product.
No. Under the Community Partnership agreement, the partner provides non-cash product or services in exchange for the editorial features. Depending on the local business, this could be something like credit for event space or equipment rental, or in-kind services such as food or drinks.
All content produced under a Community Partnership will be marked accordingly, usually with words like "this content has been produced under a Community Partnership."
If you'd like to know more about Community Partnerships, please contact us via our Contact form. You will find an option in the form to inquire about Community Partnerships.