b'EXPANDING A NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC BASE FOR JOURNALISMPROBABLY THE SINGLE LARGEST BARRIER TO GROWTHincluding more than 1,000 foundations, corporations and of nonprofit journalism is funding. Most people continuemajor donors, and more than 350,000 individuals who to think of news as a free or fee-based service, not some- supported an outlet for the first time during NewsMatch, thing they give to. To fundamentally change how journal- creating a sustainable base for the future. ism works, we need to change how people think about journalism, and we need to help more people recognizeNewsMatch numbers can be so astonishing that they itasaphilanthropicpriority.ThatswhereNewsMatchsometimes obscure the on-the-ground reality of how the comes in. project works. Take the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (NNS)which is dedicated to serving communi-NewsMatch creates an enduring and diversified base ofties of color and telling stories ignored by other media. In philanthropic support for public interest journalism. Sincethe words of executive director Ron Smith, NewsMatch 2017, NewsMatch has leveraged more than $25 million inensures that newsrooms serving diverse populations get seed funding to help generate an additional $246 millionthe help they need so they continue to inform and trans-fromcommunitysupport.Critically,thissupportisdis- form their communities. tributed across 300+ newsrooms and has many sourcesINN is the magnet that attracts funding for us all. It levels the playing field for everyone. Without NewsMatch, many of us serving communi-ties of color would have to shut our doors when we are needed more than ever. With information comes power. And that power should be-long to all the people and not just some.Ron SmithExecutive Director, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, andMember Representative, INN Board of Directors10'