The Contributor newspaper is becoming a biweekly magazine, upping prices to $5

After 10 years of operating as a weekly street newspaper, "The Contributor" is undergoing a change.

It has published its last edition as a newspaper, and beginning next month, the Nashville nonprofit will print biweekly, raising the price from $2 to $5 in exchange for a "32-page, high-quality magazine," said interim executive director Lauren Dougall.

The first issue will be released April 2, followed by a new one every two weeks.

Dougall said the change will help The Contributor's bottom line, while also putting more money in the pocket of authorized vendors, most of whom are individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness who buy the product and resell it to make a profit.

"We're more than doubling vendor income per unit sold," she said. "It's a win-win for the organization and for the vendors."

Currently, The Contributor works with roughly 300 vendors. While those sellers have previously purchased the newspapers for 75 cents each and resole them for $2, they'll now buy the magazines for $2 each and sell them for $5.

"We are going to be providing the first round of magazines free to vendors to reinvest in their micro-business so the increase is not a burden to them," Dougall said.

Each vendor will receive a starting number of 25 to 30 magazines.

With the change in product and printing schedule, The Contributor also plans to provide more help to its vendors in the form of a position that will connect them with service organizations in Nashville, including medical referrals, food assistance, drug and alcohol counseling and sales coaching to grow their businesses.

As part of the transition, The Contributor will be moving its office from Downtown Presbyterian Church to Room In The Inn.

The Contributor expects magazine to be more desirable

The organization, which has faced "declining numbers like many print news outlets have," also believes the new product, which will be printed on silk magazine paper, will also be more desirable to customers, according to Dougall.

They'll be providing higher-quality evergreen journalism through the new publishing schedule, she said, along with more space each issue for vendor storytelling, which customers say they enjoy.

"We're trying to really create a product that the public wants that also has a mission to it," Dougall said. "Rather than a newspaper, which some people take and don't read, we wanted to lead with a product that is sustainable so people come back and buy it for both the relationship with the vendor — and the product."

The final edition of the publication in newspaper style was released March 12 and will be sold — with a different collector's cover each week — until the launch of the magazine.

The Contributor has also launched an advertising campaign to spread the word about the change, including billboards around Nashville and advertisements on local public radio station WPLN.

The Contributor employs five staff members, along with a "strong volunteer corps" of around 10 people who help run the sales office.

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.