INN’s NewsMatch program offers a mix of tools, training and matching gifts to help member newsrooms build their fundraising muscle.
Since 2022, the amount participating newsrooms have raised in local matches has exceeded the amount of match funding provided through the program, signaling an opportunity to create pathways to sustainable community funding for newsrooms.
The Evanston RoundTable began publishing in Evanston, Illinois in 1998. When they converted to a nonprofit in 2020, the organization had a strong footing of financial support from its audience, said Savanna Essig-Fox, RoundTable’s Development Manager, who joined in 2024.
Starting with setting goals based on previous years’ data and going into stewardship meetings with a personalized plan, the RoundTable is an example of how a team can combine quantitative data and quantitative information about their donors’ interests when securing local matches. INN spoke to Essig-Fox, and Karen Demorest, who does contract development work for RoundTable, about the organization’s success in cultivating local matches.
Up first: Savanna Essig-Fox on the RoundTable’s local match strategy and goal-setting.
INN: Can you kind of give me an overview of your local match strategy?
Savanna Essig-Fox: We start pulling our data from the previous year’s donor data around July. From that, we pull different segments; so we use our CRM, and we look at the people who are major donors who are already at the $1,000 level, and then we usually also try to cultivate some of the people who are below that. The $1,000 ones that have been giving to us consistently, we do that outreach. We get that list going, we divvy up who’s gonna do that outreach to the different people, and then that’s kind of like, ‘hey, meet me for coffee.’ They meet in person for a lot of those people, and ask them to be part of the match. For the people who are newer, we pull a segment, usually, of people who have a total giving between $500 and $999 for the previous year. It looks similar. It’s doing that outreach. Some people obviously don’t respond, but every year, we try to get a new group of people coming in who are willing to do the $1,000.
INN: How did you set your campaign goals, and how did these local matches play into those goals during the NewsMatch?
SEG: I look at the previous year’s data, and I do a percent increase from there. I think we did an increase of 8% last year. We’re trying to get smarter every year of how we do those projections so that they’re reliable and based on evidence, not just ‘what do we want to do?’ If people aren’t doing that, a really great first step to take is looking at your campaign the year before to the next year, what that percent change in fundraising, and then you can use that to build a better goal. Local matches are definitely a significant revenue stream during the campaign.
INN: How do you cultivate those relationships with donors to secure local matches?
SEG: Our main pitch is really talking about what The RoundTable has brought to the community in terms of civic engagement, in terms of community building. If we know what the donor’s interests are, we talk about that as well. If someone’s interested in education, we do a lot of education reporting.
Up next: Karen Demorest on stewardship with donors.
INN: How do you prepare for meetings with donors?
KD: Do your homework. You need to know in advance who the person is. Depending on the ask, I’ll create a simple one-pager in advance. For larger asks, there have been a three-pager with a budget and our longer-term strategy, but for the most part that isn’t as necessary for the $1,000 to $10,000 asks.
I’m really fortunate to have our Executive Editor and Publisher Tracy Quattrocki. She’s a really strong visionary, she’s approachable, she’s engaging. She hates doing asks, but she loves talking about the organization. The two of us can go somewhere, and she’ll talk about the organization, answer questions, talk about the vision. She basically lays the foundation, and then I do the easy part of, ‘we’d love to have you consider a gift.’ Sometimes it’s a specific dollar amount. Sometimes I’ll give people multiple ranges. We’ve set a goal to collect ten $10,000 gifts, which we’ve never done, but we’re gonna set that same goal every year until we do it. We start with that, and then we can give other options depending on how their response is. Development asks need to be super personal, and you need to wing it in each meeting based on how they respond. You need to go in with a plan, and then be able to adjust it as they respond. We ended up asking for more based on the conversation, and it was just a last minute decision.
