memberships

The pub is the city in print and in person. We are Chicago’s community-operated, people’s paper and organizing hub.

Our print-only publication reports on the everyday people of the city and the way they are connecting and organizing. We rely on our volunteers to distribute our paper to 165 community spaces across the city in hopes of bringing people together around the printed word. 

We also show up in person at events and partner businesses to help connect people with our work and resources. We want to make it easier for people to engage with the city and get more involved with the community.

The pub began in 2025 as a completely self-funded, DIY project. It’s been built out as a labor of love from a group of volunteers that believe in the mission and the growth of the project. Since the beginning, we have relied on community support to share our story.

We aim to remain an independent publication with complete control over the types of stories we tell. In order to do this, we need the support of community members like you.

So, when I’m signing up for a membership, what am I paying for?

With your support, we are able to do the following:

• Keep the newspaper freely distributed across the city to be picked up in Chicago neighborhoods.
• Pay the hardworking artists, writers, and contributors who bring the paper to life.
• Create a network of local, independent organizations dedicated to providing resources to the community members that they serve.
• Run free programming such as our educational series, workshops, and skill shares.
• Appear at special pop-up events (like the Logan Square Farmers Market) to share information about the resource networks that exist in our neighborhoods.

Membership Tiers

*all membership tiers include an annual merch item

Community Tier

$5/month or $59/year

For people who have already found themselves giving the suggested donation per issue, this is the next step to help provide continued foundational support to achieve the above goals.

Monthly

Annual

Pub Tier

$13.99/month or $149/year

This is the core pub experience. It helps provide further support to the pub and is designed for those who want a consistent connection to the printed paper and our ongoing programming. It includes the mail club newsletter sent to you monthly.

Monthly

Annual

Patron Tier

$20+/month

This tier provides long-term stability for the pub via larger, sustained support. It directly supports the people behind the work and makes it possible to expand our programming, distribution, and production capacity over time. It includes the mail club newsletter sent to you monthly.

Monthly

Annual