New data from the 2026 INN Index, the ninth annual survey of INN members across North America, shows how nonprofit news organizations fared in a trying year filled with increased safety risks for reporters on the ground, funding rescissions and more demand on philanthropy to cover federal funding gaps across various nonprofit sectors.
INN found that the 412 digital-first nonprofit news organizations in the survey cohort (see methodology) took in over $750 million in combined revenue, a 14% increase from 2024 and the highest total figure since the INN Index started collecting this data. (INN also has 32 public media members but their data is not included because of differences in how public media tracks staff and budget.) At the individual level, the median INN member outlet generated $525,000 in annual revenue, comparable to 2024 levels.
Many news organizations reported reductions in charitable revenue that they attributed to the political climate (36%), but the data also shows a slight increase in individual donor giving as a share of total revenue, signaling that at least some of the volatility of the past year was temporarily mitigated by increased donor support. Members also reported growth in misinformation targeting their markets (35%).
“Given the financial, political and social upheaval of 2025, we were concerned INN’s nonprofit newsrooms would suffer tremendously, yet overall the data still show a field that is enduring,” said Karen Rundlet, the executive director and CEO of INN. “At a moment where nearly 9 in 10 Americans say they have not paid for local news in the past year, the sustainability of the INN Network is a testament to audiences valuing independent, nonprofit news organizations that produce original reporting for their communities.”
The number of local outlets continues to increase, now making up 54% of INN membership, rising from 51% in 2024. A majority of INN members (54%) now cover a broad range of topics and 48% prioritize current news and events, a shift from the early days of nonprofit news that focused more on investigative reporting.
On the audience side, the median web traffic and newsletter subscribers continued to rise. A majority of the INN network either increased or maintained their web traffic and newsletter subscriber lists, though the data shows that growth largely concentrated among particular segments of newsrooms rather than a field-wide trend.
In addition to field-wide benchmarks, the INN Index survey also examined topics of particular relevance to the field at that moment. In 2025, those topics included the adoption of artificial intelligence in nonprofit newsrooms and the effects of the current political climate on nonprofit news.
AI-based tools are now in use at 81% of nonprofit news organizations, a sharp rise from 63% in 2024 and 34% in 2023, when INN first asked this question. Use cases are concentrated in editorial support and operations rather than in writing or editing stories themselves. On the political climate, more than three-quarters of publishers reported experiencing negative impacts in 2025, citing shrinking charitable revenue and a rise in misinformation aimed at their markets as top concerns.
For the second year in a row, the Index report also includes a dedicated highlight section on INN’s cohort of public media member newsrooms, a segment of the membership that was hit directly when the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shut down due to federal budget cuts. While the crisis led to a surge in individual fundraising for many public media members, it appears to have also led to pull backs in corporate sponsorships.
The 2026 Index points to a field that is increasingly local and, as a whole, continuing to grow – albeit at a slower pace.
