Funders, there’s still plenty of time to join NewsMatch

Early reports suggest that NewsMatch, a funder collaboration to promote individual giving to journalism and capacity-building at nonprofit news organizations, is on track to break last year’s record of nearly $5 million raised. As of this Tuesday, organizers say the number of individual small-dollar donations on NewsMatch.org has tripled compared to last year’s campaign. Through Dec. 31, the campaign will match individual donations of $1,000 or less, up to $25,000 per newsroom, to 155 participating nonprofit news organizations. Go to NewsMatch.org to search for participating newsrooms by geographic community or topic of interest. There’s still time for funders to join the effort, especially if you have dollars left in your 2018 budget. In fact, in 2017 two key funders, the Rita Allen Foundation and the News Integrity Initiative, joined last year’s effort in mid-December. Josh Stearns, director of the Public Square Program at the Democracy Fund, said funders can contribute to the national NewsMatch fund or easily set up a targeted matching fund that relates to your foundation’s strategy and focus. The Miami Foundation handles all the due diligence and grant agreements making it administratively easy for partners, who can disburse grants in 2018 that will be paid out… Read More