With more than 500 members, the Institute for Nonprofit News has come a long way from 2009, INN’s founding year, when 27 investigative newsrooms created this organization and our network.
The composition of the membership has evolved to meet the information needs of communities and our larger society. INN newsrooms like Invisible Institute, ProPublica, and The Intercept produce investigative journalism, for instance; others like Chalkbeat and Open Campus provide deep coverage of education, while our local members, like Cardinal News, Block Club Chicago, WFAE, Outlier Media and Athens County Independent deliver reports and produce events focused on city budgets, immigration, affordability and the arts. Our members vary in size, geography and audiences served, but they are connected through a public service mission, a collaborative approach, and INN’s standards.
Over the last 16 years, INN has worked to provide members with business support, discounts on services and tools, collaboration opportunities, and fundraising training programs.
Make no mistake: 2025 was not an easy year. Our newsrooms had to navigate increased political tensions between government and the news media. In some instances, that meant not getting access to public records. For our public media members, it meant federal funding cuts. INN members regularly reached out to us with queries about defamation lawsuits, with safety questions on behalf of staff born abroad — concerning their immigration status — and about protections for Black and LGBTQ reporters. When it came to the philanthropic landscape, members reported it being much more competitive to bring in contributions, as both for-profit and nonprofit media now seek dollars from the same sources. As we look ahead to 2026, I’d like to share more about INN’s refined focus.
In our next season, INN will have to cultivate new partnerships.
New for INN will be policy work. INN will coordinate with partners to identify policies that generate direct funding for nonprofit newsrooms. We’ll begin in just a handful of geographies.
Additionally, we will work to increase public awareness and devotion to the mission and impact of nonprofit news and the INN Network. That will only happen if we work with new allies, including like minded nonprofits, allied sectors and technology partners to bring new resources to our members.
We no longer need to validate the nonprofit model, but we do need to pull the levers that strengthen it. The success of the field is no longer just about more member newsrooms, it’s about stronger member newsrooms with staying power.
As INN prepares for this new season, our team remains committed to delivering value for our members, through our flagship programs like INN Days, NewsMatch, and the Nonprofit News Awards; through major donors fundraising training, discounted tools and services, and fiscal sponsorship; and through resources like our Press Freedom & Safety Hub.
We will continue to do what we have always done best — supporting nonprofit news organizations in increasing their revenue and their reach — and empowering them to build direct, enduring connections with their audiences.
