July 8, 2021

Today INN releases the Quick Guide to Converting a For-Profit to Nonprofit News Outlet, which aims to help publishers figure out the challenges and opportunities presented by restarting their business as a 501(c)3 organization. This latest INN guide provides expert insights into the conversion process, with tools and resources for further exploration.

This guide was written for the Institute for Nonprofit News by Kate Butler, a business writer and news manager, and Fraser Nelson, former vice president of business innovation at The Salt Lake Tribune. Today, Kate serves as the head of editorial product and engagement at Adweek and Fraser is the co-founder and managing director of the National Trust for Local News. Lauren Gustus, executive editor at The Salt Lake Tribune, was a contributing advisor for this guide.

Quick Guide to Converting a For-Profit to Nonprofit News Outlet raises many questions for  publishers, such as: 

• Is the type of reporting you’re doing sufficiently educational in nature that you would qualify as having a tax- exempt purpose? 
• Can you define a clear public benefit mission in order to make the case for donor support? 
• Does your community have the size, history of giving, local foundations and critical mass of individuals and small business donors to support a new nonprofit? 
• Can you recruit diverse individuals to form the board of directors and steer the new institution? 
• How will you ensure that your news coverage, editorial opinions and public statements do not advance partisan politics? 
• Who will conduct the business planning required to not only redefine your organization as a nonprofit but put the revenue streams in place to sustain it?

Becoming a nonprofit news outlet is one proven and successful strategy for preserving news in the face of changing economics that have seen nearly two thousand newspapers shut down in recent years — but it is not the right structure for everyone. This latest INN guide is not meant to be comprehensive, nor should it be considered legal advice; it is meant as a kind of extended FAQ to help publishers rethink their business model and find resources for making the change.

Download the guide here.