Maybe it's a little out of the normal run of production problems, but I had a reader recently point out that one of the major production problems for a small newspaper can be to have the funds to go on producing the paper.
That's a good point. I have come across newspapers that have received arts council and local education grants for things like running an arts page or a page (and sometimes a lot more) for one or more local schools -- especially if they involve the students doing most of the preparation work (I've been paid a few times to go along to schools and explain how a newspaper is put together).
I've also seen schools and other organisations divert funds they used to produce a newsletter to a newspaper which agrees to run a regular column.
However, in general, appeals for "support" don't seem to work in the long term -- much better is to encourage people to show their support by placing paid classifieds whenever they have something to say, something to sell, or someone to thank.
For a local publication, or one which serves a very specialised field where a number of people agree that they would lose substantially (either economically or socially) if the publication ceased, there could be an argument for a "Friends of ..." organisation that maybe gives some benefit such as discounts of some kind that don't cost the publisher anything.
You can also chase local politicians for inclusion on government advertising budgets, though this money seems to be getting much harder to get.
I have to admit that this isn't covered in any great depth in my book How to Start and Produce a Magazine or Newsletter although that does cover much about setting ad rates, selling ads and considering the general economics of publishing.
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