California's oldest Japanese-American community newspaper may be rescued by a group of community leaders who are trying to turn it into a non-profit organisation, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.

The board of directors of the Nichi Bei Times on Thursday announced the 63-year-old newspaper would print its last edition Sept. 10.

The paper, with around 8,000 subscribers, first encountered circulation and advertising decline in 2006, where a new three-day a week, with one edition in English, format was substituted for the daily bi-lingual design in an attempt to turn the papers fortune.

Board Chariman Ken Abiko told the Chronicle that the new format was given three years to see if it would work, but "the losses were deepening and there was no sense in continuing. It was either now or soon."

The paper's predecessor, Nichi Bei Shimbun, was founded in 1899 by Akibo's grandfather.

However, a group of local journalists and community leaders have refused to let the newspaper die, and instead is creating a non-profit operation, called the Nichi Bei Foundation. The group hopes to be supported by grants, donations and fundraisers, according to the Chronicle.

The nonprofit effort is being lead by Nichi Bei Editor Kenji Taguma, Paul Osaki, executive director of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, Keith Kamisugi, and Kerwin Berk, a former sports desk editor for The Chronicle.

Keith Kamisugi, communications director of the Equal Justice Society, is one of the people leading the effort to switch to a non-profit. He told The Chronicle that making the change may be a way to stop "looking at the bottom line and squeezing every dime at the expense of quality news."

In an opinion piece on the Nichi Bei Times Web site, the group pleads to readers: "In order for the new Nichi Bei Foundation and its nonprofit publication to work, however, it will take a lot of urgent help. Because of the late notification of the closing of the Nichi Bei Times, we are not able to obtain 501(c)3 status in time to attract large foundations. Thus, the new foundation will initially rely primarily -- if not solely -- upon private, individual donations."