Nine out of ten news organizations that were members of the Institute for Nonprofit News at the end of 2024 – the INN Network – received direct support from INN and its NewsMatch program. The record-breaking investment of 21 funders in the year-end 2024 NewsMatch campaign, combined with INN’s partnership with Google News Initiative to provide business implementation grants, created a banner year for direct support, with 425 independent news organizations receiving a total of $14,114,004 from these and other sources.
“From training our members on how to fundraise to offering deep discounts on business services, there are several ways INN helps these nonprofit outlets become sustainable,” said Karen Rundlet, INN’s executive director and CEO. “Combining capacity-building programs with a direct investment gives members the flexibility to fill revenue gaps or take their operations to the next level.”
The median amount of direct support received by INN members for 2024 was $35,000, while more than ten percent of members received at least $50,000 by participating in relevant programs.
Here’s how it adds up:
NEWSMATCH: News organizations that participated in NewsMatch conducted fundraising with their audiences in November and December and were eligible for matching gifts from a pooled fund as well as partner funds for reporting on particular regions or topics and incentive bonuses totalling $7 million in 2024. (NewsMatch funds are held at and disbursed by INN’s partner The Miami Foundation.)
GNI FUNDAMENTALS LAB: The GNI Fundamentals Lab for INN members offered training in audience development, reader revenue and sponsor advertising and provided up to $20,000 per organization to apply lessons learned, totalling $6.3 million in 2024.
(To help cover the cost of administering these programs, GNI distributed an additional 10% of funding to INN, and the Fund for Nonprofit News (NewsMatch) at the Miami Foundation allocated 6% to INN.)
Additional funding of nearly $1 million was provided in the form of stipends, including for travel, allowing members with limited budgets to attend the annual INN Days conference and the Nonprofit News Awards; for the salaries of interns placed by INN partnerships in newsrooms; to cover the cost of reporting and editing during editorial collaborations, and for leading peer groups and peer-learning sessions.
Nonprofit newsrooms apply to join the INN Network by meeting standards for editorial independence, original news reporting and financial transparency.
Membership in INN is open to nonprofit news organizations that meet robust membership standards for editorial independence, original news reporting and financial transparency. Once an organization is vetted by staff and accepted by INN’s Board of Directors, all staff, board members and regular freelancers at the organization are eligible for member benefits, which include office hours with experts in fundraising, audience development, technology and business strategy; negotiated rates on services like donor wealth screening, employee benefits, and software; one-to-one consulting for urgent matters like ethics consideration; discounted tickets to INN conferences, and a weekly newsletter curating funding and training opportunities from peer organizations.
Other organization-wide benefits include content licensing and distribution arrangements, preferred rates on media liability insurance, access to AI tools and participation in partnerships like the one with The Associated Press where 200 INN Network newsrooms shared AP’s live election night results.
The sum of these programs, services and benefits is greater than its parts because through these resources, INN is building a sustainable, thriving nonprofit news field that informs communities and impacts policies – with more than 475 independent newsrooms distributing content to 15,000 media outlets across North America.
INN’s membership dues are based on an organization’s annual revenue, with rates hovering at $400 – $500 for the majority of members with budgets in the range of $250,000 to $1,999,999. INN is planning to increase dues rates slightly this year for the first time since 2019; the adjustment will only affect larger organizations.
As important as financial support is to the nonprofit news field, Rundlet said, in her first year with INN, she was struck by the generosity of the community. INN leaders want their peers to succeed. The listserv, INN Days and the Index Pods are all very valuable to newsroom leaders.
“News has traditionally been a deadline-driven, competitive industry, but the conversations I see on our member listserv are supportive, frank and collaborative,” said Rundlet, who joined the organization in January 2024. “We have members asking – and answering – questions about freelance rates, storing photographs, email software, and advertising policies. Members share advice and help each other. Members know they’ll learn and move faster if they turn to the INN community.”
Later this month, INN will publish a recap of how members used the implementation grants from the GNI Fundamentals Lab program and will also release results from the members’ 2024 NewsMatch campaigns.
