NewsMatch Shifts to Year-Round Fundraising Model

NewsMatch, a decade-old experimental program that has become a critical fundraising tool for nonprofit newsrooms across the United States, is set to transition from its traditional year-end campaign to a year-round model. Initially created by the Knight Foundation in collaboration with the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) and the News Revenue Hub, NewsMatch has grown to be considered a flagship program by many members of INN. The organization's report, released on Tuesday, outlines a vision for the next ten years, stating that while the first decade focused on helping newsrooms fundraise, the "next phase will focus on helping newsrooms build on that foundation with more advanced, flexible campaigns tailored to their goals and stages of growth." This strategic shift will involve piloting "NewsMatch catalyst campaigns" next year, allowing select INN members to test new fundraising strategies.

Since its inception, NewsMatch has facilitated contributions from approximately 600,000 first-time donors to nonprofit news organizations. The program has demonstrated significant growth in donor engagement, with the average number of mid-level donors—those contributing between $1,000 and $5,000—more than doubling between 2021 and 2025. A notable milestone was reached in 2022 when local matches surpassed national donors for the first time, indicating a growing regional support base for nonprofit journalism. The report further highlights that INN's leadership is actively exploring avenues to sustain and increase funding for the nonprofit news sector, which has expanded considerably since NewsMatch's launch, despite ongoing challenges related to funding and audience engagement faced by individual newsrooms.

Karen Rundlet, the executive director and CEO of INN, emphasized in the report that while the program is highly valued by its expanding membership, it is not endowed. This means INN must fundraise annually to support NewsMatch. She also pointed out the necessity of long lead times for donor education and securing buy-in from newer entrants to journalism philanthropy, even as INN has broadened its efforts to attract funding beyond traditional philanthropic sources. The transition to a year-round model is intended to provide more consistent support and allow for more sophisticated fundraising strategies that can adapt to the evolving needs and growth stages of individual nonprofit news organizations.