New data from the 2025 INN Index, the eighth annual survey of Institute for Nonprofit News members across North America, show that nonprofit news organizations continued to strengthen financially in 2024, building on revenue growth from the prior year while also seeing a steady rise in the number of local outlets joining the field.
The median INN member outlet generated $532,000 in annual revenue, a marked jump from $477,000 in 2023. Overall, INN found that the nearly 400 digital-first nonprofit newsrooms in the survey cohort took in an estimated $650-$700 million in revenue last year, representing a 14% increase from 2023, alongside a 10% rise in the number of outlets included in the sample. (See Methodology for details on the survey.)
At the same time, startups — organizations that launched within the prior three years — made up a smaller portion of INN’s membership in 2024, dropping from the peak of 27% in 2020 to 15% in 2024.
“The increase in median revenue, combined with a slowing in the pace of startups, indicates a field that is maturing.”
Karen Rundlet, Executive Director and CEO, INN
“The increase in median revenue, combined with a slowing in the pace of startups, indicates a field that is maturing,” said Karen Rundlet, executive director and CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit News. “We still see annual growth in the number of nonprofit news outlets across North America, but these individual outlets are, on average, a bit larger and stronger than they were several years ago.”
For the first time, local news outlets make up the majority of INN’s membership, rising to 51% in 2024 from 48% in 2023.* These organizations often operate with smaller budgets and leaner staff, yet they distinguish themselves through a close alignment with community needs. Local outlets are far more likely to define their missions around broad and current news coverage: 75% cover a wide range of topics (compared with 29% of non-local outlets) and 61% focus on current events (versus 25%). They are also more likely to serve rural communities, with 23% doing so compared with 16% of non-local outlets.
In 2024, staffing at INN member outlets ticked up slightly, to 4,650 staff (from 4,500), with about 70% working in editorial or news related roles. The field continues to hold space for women and people of color in leadership positions, with women holding a majority of executive roles (53%) at news outlets in INN’s sample and four in 10 outlets (42%) reporting at least one executive of color out of the three top executives.
On average, INN members publish 52 stories per month, with a median of 20, consistent with previous years. Outlets focused on in-depth, investigative or analytical reporting typically produce fewer stories than those covering daily news. Based on the monthly average, INN estimates that the nearly 400 digital-first nonprofit news outlets produced about 230,000 stories in 2024.
While growing and retaining audiences remains a challenge for INN members and news organizations more broadly as referral traffic from Google and Facebook continues to decline and AI-generated summaries reduce click-through rates, INN outlets have been successful in attracting so-called “owned audiences”: between 2021 and 2024, 72% of outlets expanded their newsletter subscriber lists while only 10% reported declines.
To increase capacity and reach in this fragmented online market, INN members are turning to collaborations. In 2024, 4 in 10 organizations participated in four or more editorial collaborations, and nearly 80% partnered on at least one — an increase from 75% in 2022.
This Index introduces a new section on timely topics, including questions on policy engagement, measuring impact and the use of artificial intelligence. INN added these questions to benchmark how nonprofit newsrooms are navigating emerging forces that could shape their sustainability and operations. On AI, INN found that, compared to the previous year, more nonprofit news organizations are using AI (63% compared to 34% in 2023). Usage, however, is concentrated mainly on business operations like fundraising, and tasks such as transcription and data analysis, as opposed to producing editorial content.
For the first time, this Index report includes a dedicated highlight section on INN’s cohort of public media member newsrooms, which have been affected by the rescission of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. While digital-first nonprofit newsrooms make up the majority of INN’s membership, public broadcasters made up about 7% of INN members as of September 2025 and remain an important part of the network, especially in rural areas.
“It remains to be seen how cuts in federal funding to not just public media but a range of public services and other 501(c)3s will affect philanthropy and individual giving to nonprofit news organizations in 2025,” said Rundlet, citing anecdotal evidence that small and topical outlets are facing the greatest challenges. “This is the moment for news consumers to make the investment — to make a donation — for the news and information their communities need.”
About INN and the Index
The Institute for Nonprofit News strengthens and supports 500 independent news organizations in a new kind of news network: nonprofit, nonpartisan and dedicated to public service. From local news to in-depth reporting on pressing global issues, members of the INN Network report the stories that otherwise would go untold—connecting communities, holding the powerful accountable and strengthening democracy. INN programs help these news organizations develop revenue and business models to support strong reporting, collaborate on editorial and business innovation, share services and advance the diverse leaders who are forging a new future for news.
INN began conducting the annual Index survey of its member news organizations in 2018, capturing 2017 data in a rapidly expanding field. Each year these organizations act as a research consortium by sharing their business and editorial statistics to help each other benchmark their own development and also to inform better understanding of new media business models, staffing needs and editorial focus of newsrooms as they form. INN Index data indicates what drives nonprofit news, how it’s funded, who it serves, and how we can continue expanding sources of high-quality information for the public.
*A previous version of this post said that, for the first time, local news outlets make up the largest share of INN’s membership. Instead it’s the first time local news outlets make up the majority of the membership, not the largest share.
