Updated January 25, 2021
Recently the Institute for Nonprofit News shared with members a big step toward our goal of ensuring the financial sustainability of nonprofit news: the INN Network Philanthropy Center. Designed as the first one-stop-shop for nonprofit news organizations seeking to increase their success at fundraising -- and built around INN's signature News Giving Roadmap program -- this expanded resource will increase revenue from major gifts while meeting organizations where they are on the “road” to sustainability. That means that whether an INN member is a startup learning how to write grants, a growing organization evaluating donor management tools, or a longstanding publication seeking to establish an endowment, the INN Network Philanthropy Center has resources that meet their needs.
“The launch of the INN Network Philanthropy Center is an unprecedented resource for nonprofit news organizations of all sizes,” states Jeffrey Woolverton, INN Network Philanthropy Director. “This new approach will provide members with one-stop access to central fundraising resources including hands-on help, coaching, peer groups, challenge grants and databases, tools and technology to build sustainable revenue and increase philanthropic giving levels.”
Individual giving is a huge growth opportunity for nonprofit news. Nationally, 69% of all charitable giving comes from individual donors (Giving USA 2020). But in the nonprofit news field, individual giving is just 35% of total revenue (INN Index 2020). The INN Network Philanthropy Center was developed to address this gap, thanks to an investment from Knight Foundation and the support of philanthropic partners including Park Foundation and industry-wide thought leaders in fundraising.
Highlights of the Network Philanthropy Center are:
- News Giving Roadmap: a customized program that assesses the unique strengths and challenges of each news organization’s fundraising programs and directs its team to the coaching, peer groups, tools and services that will take their donations to the next level.
- Fundraising Shared Services: free and deeply discounted rates on prospect research, wealth screenings, donor profiles and grantwriting to helping nonprofit news organizations build sustainable, diverse revenue growth.
- CFRE-accredited Courses: educational offerings accredited by Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) International, allowing advancement professionals who participate in programs like INN’s News Giving Roadmap to obtain continuing education points.
- Association of News Fundraising Professionals: an expansion of INN’s peer groups for development directors into an independent, membership-based association for fundraisers specializing in the news sector; INN expects to fiscally sponsor the association and is currently building an advisory board.
INN is the backbone organization for a growing network of 300 independent, nonprofit news organizations. While INN's CFRE-accredited courses and the Association of News Fundraising Professionals are open to the public, only INN members can access our coaching and shared resources. Membership in INN is open to both newsrooms and organizations that support the field of nonprofit news: details on our Become a Member page.
Want to receive announcements about programs like the Network Philanthropy Center? Sign up for INN's weekly newsletter.