In October, the INN Standards Task Force gathered on Zoom to discuss seven newsrooms that were being considered for membership.
These seven applications – out of 21 total organizations being considered in the application cycle that took place between April and August – were more complex than the others and needed the Standards Task Force’s review before heading to the Institute for Nonprofit News board of directors for an ultimate decision.
The Task Force typically meets once an application cycle, and includes a mix of INN co-founders and long-term members. In these meetings, you’ll find robust conversations on whether the newsroom at hand meets the required INN standards – but it isn’t always black and white.
How the process works
The application to be an INN member is open year-round, but, typically, INN’s board of directors considers membership applications across three cycles. During each cycle, INN’s membership team, led by Chief Network Officer Jonathan Kealing, reviews each application and makes a recommendation on whether the board should approve, decline or defer a recommendation. When it’s not clear, the team engages with the Standards Task Force before sharing applications with the board.
“The nonprofit news field is strong because of its shared values and sense of civic purpose,” said Kealing. “Every prospective INN member is thoroughly reviewed by staff, but all decisions are ultimately made by our board because we believe INN membership should be an indication that an organization that shares our commitment to independence, transparency, community and accountability.”
Of the 21 applicants considered, INN staff recommended approval for 10 newsrooms without needing task force feedback, but took seven applications to the Task Force for a closer look.
Laura Frank, the executive director of Colorado News Collaborative and a co-founder of INN, serves on the Standards Task Force. She said that she’s seen INN evolve from a few investigative nonprofits to a nationwide movement, and that the task force is needed to keep up with the growth and changes to the field.
“The field has grown tremendously and that’s a good thing. But with growth comes complexity. The Task Force exists to help interpret and apply INN’s membership standards consistently, in a way that keeps the network credible and inclusive.”
INN’s membership standards
In order to be eligible for membership in INN, an organization must be organized as a nonprofit and have as its primary mission news reporting. The criteria for membership is centered on three primary standards: editorial excellence in news coverage, editorial independence and financial transparency.
“Standards are essential for public trust.”
Laura Frank, Executive Director, Colorado News Collaborative
“Standards are essential for public trust,” said Frank. “At the same time, they can’t be static. What defines nonprofit news today is more diverse — community media, investigative centers, newsletters — and we want to make sure all are evaluated through the same lens of mission and transparency.”
An application will get pushed to the Task Force when INN staff isn’t exactly sure what to recommend because, a lot of times, there are nuances to the standards.
“It’s rarely a yes-or-no question,” said Frank. “We spend a lot of time asking how an outlet serves the public good and why it’s structured the way it is. That nuance is important.”
The editorial quality standard includes requirements that the newsroom conduct original news reporting, label opinion pieces appropriately and distinguish advertising from news content.
INN’s membership manager, Devon Dunkle, described how the process unfolds in practice.
“This time around, one organization was recommended to be declined because they didn’t have enough original reporting – most of the content was republished from other sources,” said Dunkle. “One was deferred to the next cycle (a final decision was not made in this cycle) because it needs better labeling on its opinion pieces and more original news coverage.”
The editorial independence standard requires that all INN members are independent from advocacy and financial or other influence, ensuring its coverage serves no cause beyond informing the public and the communities it serves. Some organizations have been declined if they ask their readers to take certain actions to further a specific movement, Dunkle said. Newsrooms can provide resources, can inform audiences of protests, polling places and more, but they cannot tell individuals who or what to vote for or what policies to support.
Other times, applicants might be declined related to the editorial independence standard when a publication is specifically by and for a certain group of people. For example, religious publications that might abide by the same religious doctrine would not necessarily be independent enough from the topic they cover.
The financial transparency standard allows the public to know about the financial supporters of INN newsrooms. Organizations in the INN Network are required to publicly name contributions of $5,000 or more. INN members must also make it easy for the public to identify board members and key leaders of a news outlet, as well as operational and ethical policies.
Room for improvement
Once an organization is either declined or deferred by the Board, INN staff sends an email with information on the decision, as well as an option to schedule a meeting.
“When the Board declines a newsroom for the first time, that’s often just the beginning of the conversation with us,” Dunkle said. “We never tell a publication that they need to change, but we do offer feedback on what could help them later join INN if they choose to move forward.”
“I think that makes INN a stronger organization all around knowing that all of the members have been through the same process.”
Laicie Heeley, CEO, InkStick Media
When Laicie Heeley, the CEO of InkStick Media, applied to be an INN member in 2021, the organization was originally declined. She said that when she started InkStick in 2017, its main content was its podcast – with help from PRX (formerly Public Radio International) – as well as some digital commentary, but it did not publish a lot of original reporting.
When someone from PRX suggested InkStick should apply to become an INN member, Heeley knew it would be helpful as a tiny nonprofit just starting out and needing extra resources. However, because of the lack of original reporting on InkStick’s website, INN’s board of directors declined its application with feedback that Heeley said helped her “refine and move more aggressively in the right direction.”
In 2023, Heeley reached out to INN to inquire about re-applying for INN membership.
“We grew quite a bit in those years and started publishing a lot more. We still continued to do the podcast, and were able to really up our reporting game and came back with the well rounded outlet that we were trying to build when we applied the first time.”
Despite being declined the first time around, Heeley said that she’s glad that the application process is as thorough as it is. “I think that makes INN a stronger organization all around knowing that all of the members have been through the same process,” she said.
It becomes a little bit harder to be approved once you’ve been declined because you’re just looking at it that more closely, Dunkle said, but it does happen, and not infrequently.
Welcoming new members
Of the seven applications that went to the Task Force recently, six had already been reviewed by the Task Force. This time around, two of them were recommended for approval, two for decline and two for deferral while they address some barriers the task force identified.
The INN board of directors officially accepted 12 new members in October, including nine full members, two provisional members and one affiliate organization.
Full members
News organizations that are full members of INN regularly publish original investigative or public service journalism. The newest full members of the INN Network are:
2Puntos Platform is an independent hyperlocal multimedia outlet that began as a podcast during the pandemic and is now a constantly evolving space that produces accurate, inclusive, and accessible information for the Latine community in Philadelphia.
Accountability Journalism Institute, previously The OptOut Media Foundation, runs the newsroom Important Context, which tracks the funding behind false and misleading narratives related to health and science.
Evident Media is a nonprofit news organization producing documentary journalism for the public good, putting crews on the ground and covering crucial issues through in-depth cinematic reporting.
GCJ.News is a nonprofit online news organization dedicated to serving the greater Ephrata, Washington community with fair and accurate reporting on issues and topics affecting area residents and the region.
Morongo Basin Projects, which publishes The Desert Trumpet, reports on social justice, equity and environmental issues throughout the Morongo Basin seeking to increase political engagement and encourage a participatory political process by reporting on city government.
Queer Kentucky, the only dedicated LGBTQ newsroom in Kentucky, keeps an often rural and at-risk population informed on public health, politics & government, and arts & culture news, along with the everyday experiences of Kentuckians.
The Hudson Valley News Foundation, which publishes The Hudson Independent, was founded in 2006 and serves residents of Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley, Irvington, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.
FāVS News, which launched in 2012 as Spokane Faith and Values, covers religion and ethics in the Inland Northwest and serves as the regions’ religion news wire.
The Rapidian is a hyperlocal news platform for Grand Rapids-area residents, working to address the growing local news shortage while empowering the community to take ownership of their news ecosystem.
Provisional
Provisional members of INN receive support while working to fully meet INN’s membership standards for editorial excellence, independence and transparency within a year of acceptance. Provisional members often are fiscally sponsored by INN or other organizations while launching their fundraising efforts, and can benefit from the INN peer community that shares knowledge and tips. INN is no longer accepting applications for provisional members after Dec. 31, 2025.
The newest provisional members are:
Daffodil Press, which publishes La Conner Community News, is an independent newspaper that serves the La Conner, Swinomish, and surrounding communities in Washington.
Cambridge News, Inc., which publishes Cambridge Day, is a nonprofit founded in 2024 dedicated to publishing fact-based news and information for Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts.
Affiliate
Affiliate membership is open to organizations that share the INN mission of advancing nonprofit public service journalism but aren’t primarily newsrooms. They are not eligible for any INN programs that provide philanthropic dollars. INN is not accepting applications for affiliate members after Dec. 31, 2025.
The Pro-Democracy Information Lab is a nonprofit organization that trains 5,000 local journalists in its growing network to produce pro-democracy news and is piloting ground-breaking strategies for reaching news resistant Americans.
