Community Champion Award

2026 Nonprofit News Awards

Honors an INN member organization that made a significant contribution to the well-being of its community through a journalism-centered project or service.

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Micro Division — Winner: AfroLA
Small Division — Winner: South Dakota News Watch
Medium Division — Winner: Type Investigations, South Side Weekly
Large Division — Winner: Mississippi Today

Community Champion Award – Micro division

AfroLA

Series on Eaton Fire Recovery by Corinne Ruff, Elizabeth Moss, William Jenkins, Fallon Brannon

Wildfires erupted in Los Angeles in early January 2025, consuming thousands of structures, including homes. Later, when residents were allowed to assess the damage and salvage any remains, AfroLA was there too. Throughout the year, the news outlet’s coverage focused on families in predominantly Black communities, who were disproportionately affected by the destruction. The coverage included practical advice, such as how to safely clean and salvage belongings, and rich accounts of survivors’ experiences in areas destroyed by the Eaton fires such as Altadena and Pasadena.

“In a crucial moment, AfroLA provides the service that this community needed — not just in the heart of the fire emergency but in the aftermath as well,” a judge wrote.

“AfroLA acts as a community champion by staying with the story and compassionately unpacking the past, present, and future implications of this tragedy.”

Another judge noted how AfroLA’s reporting went beyond the typical response to tragic news.

“It takes a special mindset and focus to support a grieving and in-need community as a daily resource, helping the community unite and move forward,” the judge said.

Read the Winning Work

Your house is still standing. Now what? Staying safe returning to a burned home Jan. 20, 2025

Collective supports Black families impacted by Eaton Fire, helps raise nearly $20 million for recovery Jan. 22, 2025

Doctor first, fire survivor second Feb. 11, 2025

The kids are alright? How kids are coping with the loss of homes and schools to Eaton Fire Feb. 21, 2025

Three months later after the Eaton Fire, Black Altadeneans wrestle with ‘in-between’ period April 16, 2025

Insurance delays and denials leave Eaton Fire survivors in limbo April 21, 2025

Finalists

Oviedo Community News, Seminole County’s Skeleton Crew Libraries, Makayla Gray, Abe Aboraya

Community Champion Award – Small division

South Dakota News Watch

Engage South Dakota — Creating a Housing Consortium by Carson Walker, Bart Pfankuch

South Dakota News Watch has reported for years on the lack of affordable housing in the state. In 2025, the newsroom went a step further, looking for and highlighting solutions instead of simply reporting on a problem. They called that effort Engage South Dakota.

Over a year, reporter Bart Pfankuch visited several South Dakota communities to hear from local officials, nonprofit housing agency leaders and residents about the challenges they faced and “share specific efforts to expand housing that had [shown] success,” according to the publication’s nomination letter.

“We found that across the state, many housing agencies and leaders were finding unique paths to success, but that they tended to work in silos that prevented good ideas from spreading as much as they could,” the letter stated.

South Dakota News Watch compiled those resources and ideas on a landing page for easy access. Later, they found that “News Watch reporting and storytelling had helped create a network in which housing leaders were talking to one another, sharing our stories and sharing ideas.”

The silos had come down. News Watch has been awarded grants toward continuing the project.

Engage South Dakota “is a great example of what an organization can do when it pushes people outside of their silos and takes ownership/responsibility for being the convener of idea and resource sharing,” a judge said.

Read the Winning Work

How Wall is building a model to encourage housing growth July 14, 2025

Redfield rebuilds housing stock: 1 lot and 1 house at a time July 28, 2025

Housing solutions from across South Dakota Aug. 29, 2026

Chamberlain gives away land to spur new housing development Oct. 13, 2025

Salem residents invest own money in new subdivision Nov. 10, 2025

Residents stand ready to help plan the future of Watertown June 18, 2025

Resident-driven ideas at heart of Engage South Dakota Dec. 12, 2024

Finalist

The Bridge, Housing Solutions in Central Vermont, Cassandra Hemenway, Rachel Pierce, Tracy Brannstrom, Phil Dodd, Sandra Vitzthum, John Lazenby, Terry J. Allen, Dana Dwinell-Yardley
LOOKOUT Publications, A Summer of Change, Joseph Darius Jaafari

Community Champion Award – Medium division

Type Investigations, South Side Weekly

Fraudsters Target Immigrants Seeking Legal Help by Alma Campos, Max Blaisdell

Alma Campos and Max Blaisdell of South Side Weekly, in collaboration with Type Investigations, put a price tag on fraudulent practices targeting immigrants seeking legal help that have been reported in at least 14 states: about $1.2 million.

Their reporting illustrates how fear and lack of access to affordable attorneys and legal resources make the population particularly vulnerable.

The notarios, or notaries, bilk immigrants out of money by misrepresenting the services they can legally provide, posing as attorneys, licensed notaries or trusted insiders. It’s a problem perpetuated by inconsistent enforcement.

“This thorough investigation put an actual price to the fraudulent practices it uncovered while capturing the human cost through impactful storytelling,” a judge said.

Campos and Blaisdell produced “a timely, well-reported piece that truly serves those who need it most,” one judge said. The article also focused on a “timely and underreported topic” while keeping immigrants at the center of the story, they said.

Read the Winning Work

Fraudsters Target Immigrants Seeking Legal Help Dec. 4, 2025

Finalist

El Tímpano, Disinformation Defense Workshops, Staff

Community Champion Award – Large division

Mississippi Today

The Black Box: Inside Mississippi’s Opioid Settlement Spending by Allen Siegler

Mississippi has been paid tens of millions of dollars from lawsuit settlements each year since 2022. The money is meant to go toward the state’s response to the overdose public health crisis. But in 2025, Mississippi Today found that the towns and cities across the state control about 15% of those funds, and the money was being spent with almost no public knowledge.

Allen Siegler discovered that less than $1 million, which was also less than 1% of the money received at that point, was spent on direct measures to prevent more drug deaths. The investigation led to immediate impacts, including course correction by local governments that began spending the opioid settlement money the way they were supposed to, funding drug courts, youth intervention programs and treatment centers — efforts that could eventually save lives.

The investigation, driven by records requests, yielded data readers could use to better understand how the opioid settlement funds were being used in their community, judges said.

“The approach requires a lot of work, but the methodology — following the money via public records requests — is fairly straightforward. Judges appreciated the unfussy databases and maps, and the equally unfussy vertical video summary. These strategies showed a willingness to consider all the ways audiences might interact with the material.”