Frequently Asked Questions

NewsMatch is a collaborative fundraising initiative designed to attract and diversify support for member newsrooms of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN).

The program centers on a matching gift model that leverages the support of national funding partners to generate support from supporters at the local level for hundreds of independent nonprofit newsrooms that produce fact-based news and information.

NewsMatch has four strategic objectives to grow and expand who funds the news:
▸ Increase the number of people who support nonprofit journalism
▸ Grow local and regional investments from philanthropic institutions and major donors
▸ Develop and strengthen sustainable fundraising capabilities within newsrooms
▸ Increase awareness and public support for nonprofit journalism

NewsMatch is a catalytic solution to grow the number of people who fund the news in our communities.

Three components power the program:
▸ Matching gift campaign. Funders pool their resources to match individual donations made to newsrooms, attracting more donors to a community’s news resources.
▸ Training and capacity-building. Throughout the year, the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) and News Revenue Hub provide news organizations with toolkits, templates, training and coaching to help build their development skills. These easy-to-implement capacity-building resources both increase their NewsMatch success for end-of-year fundraising and their year-round ability to diversify and grow revenue.
▸ Building public and philanthropic awareness. NewsMatch leverages the collective group of
funders, newsrooms and partners to amplify the value of quality journalism and help audiences and other supporters discover and support essential news in and for their communities.

NewsMatch is open to U.S.-based members in good standing of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). Participants range from hyperlocal neighborhood news outlets to national and global publications.

INN members:
▸ Produce high-quality and original journalism that serves their communities through trustworthy information and encourages civic engagement
▸ Maintain editorial and operational independence
▸ Are transparent in their sources of funding
▸ Comply with membership standards for ethics and best practices in nonprofit journalism

NewsMatch is a collaborative effort between newsrooms, funders and industry service organizations.

Since its inception, the NewsMatch collaborative fund has been held at The Miami Foundation and has been supported by 39 individual funders. The Foundation oversees the fiscal administration of NewsMatch funds.

The program is managed by the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), which supports a nationwide network of 500 independent, nonprofit news organizations. In addition to coordinating the program and cultivating national funding partners, INN also provides support to participating organizations through group and individual training around fundraising, building local match funders and more.

News Revenue Hub serves as a key learning partner that creates a series of time-saving, turnkey resources and learning resources to help newsrooms run successful individual donor campaigns.

Newsrooms can generate funds through up to five NewsMatch funding methods:
▸ Main pooled matching funds are awarded to organizations with operating budgets below $1 million, where the program has the greatest impact in developing individual donor bases.
▸ Partner matching funds support newsrooms of any size that cover specific topics or communities.
▸ Local matching funds are secured by newsrooms to increase their campaign match goals.
▸ Goal-based bonuses are awarded to newsrooms that hit certain target performance metrics such as securing first-time donors or local matches.
▸ Individual donations may be doubled or tripled by the NewsMatch pooled match funders.

Besides receiving unrestricted funding through main fund matches, partner fund matches and goal-based bonuses, NewsMatch enhances newsroom sustainability by giving them the tools they need to establish a replicable fundraising strategy. Newsrooms receive a variety of training opportunities year-round that help them learn about best practices for digital fundraising, cultivating major donors and enlisting local match funders, audience development, and much more. They can also take advantage of individual coaching
tailored to their specific needs. Through the Campaign Toolkit, participants are equipped with templates, language and messaging that can be tweaked and utilized for campaigns outside of NewsMatch.

In 2025, NewsMatch is supported by a consortium of 22 program funders, including Barr Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, DAFgiving360 made possible by the generosity of the Present Progressive Fund, Democracy Fund, Golden Globe Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Kaphan Foundation, McKnight Foundation, People’s Media Fund, Press Forward, Solidarity Giving, The New York Community Trust – Westchester, The Tow Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Wyncote Foundation. In-kind support provided by The New York Times. NewsMatch (the Fund for Nonprofit News) is a collaborative fund managed by The Miami Foundation.

In addition to funding unrestricted matching and goal-based bonus funding to newsrooms, these foundations provide support for capacity-building for newsrooms, program fundraising, and communications. Operational partners The Miami Foundation, the Institute for Nonprofit News, and News Revenue Hub manage applications, verification and processing of donations, create and distribute shared campaign materials, and provide technical support and capacity-building programs for NewsMatch participants.

In 2025, NewsMatch program expenses totaled $8.2 million, of which $7.4 million was directed to newsrooms through direct funds and capacity-building programs and services. Program costs, including marketing, fundraising, administration, research and evaluation, and program management, accounted for 10% of actual expenses absorbed by the NewsMatch fund. Eighty-eight percent (85%) of funding was direct support to newsrooms in the form of matching grants or bonuses and capacity-building. The program carried over 2% of its 2025 budget to 2026.

▸ National matching funds are secured by the program and awarded to organizations with operating budgets below $1 million.
▸ Partner matching funds are secured by the program targeted toward newsrooms (regardless of size) covering specific topics or communities.
▸ Local matches are secured by newsrooms independently to increase their pool of campaign match funds.