Name: The San Antonio Report, San Antonio, Texas

Publisher: Robert Rivard, editor & publisher

Profile: The San Antonio Report is a free, online publication covering San Antonio. It was founded in 2012 as The Rivard Report, a community blog by Robert Rivard and his wife, Monika Maeckle. It developed into an online news site, newsletter and community events organization now named The San Antonio Report, and has grown from a small staff to the current 21 employees. Rivard had a classic journalism background as editor of the San Antonio Express-News and as a foreign correspondent, senior editor and global chief of correspondents at Newsweek.

Trigger for change: The Report was scraping by, selling advertising and receiving some donations, but was largely subsidized by Rivard and Maeckle, who did not draw a salary. Rivard wanted financial stability and funding to grow the business, and friends with experience in tech, finance, nonprofits and journalism also wanted to help the publication get on solid financial footing. These community members spent months in financial modeling and discussions. Ultimately, the team realized that the lack of robust returns would make it difficult to attract traditional return-driven investors, and that the Report was better positioned to seek donors willing to support community journalism.

Their story: The idea to convert to a nonprofit was the brainchild of Rivard’s friend, John “Chico” Newman Jr., a philanthropist with years of experience in nonprofits, including those focused on journalism. Newman is a strong believer that healthy communities depend on robust local news sources. Rivard was reluctant to take the nonprofit route, hoping to retain control and turn a profit. “He was going to burn out,” Newman said. “And I just didn’t think his business model was sustainable.”

So Newman staged what was essentially a financial intervention over dinner, and made the case that Rivard should change strategy. He recruited a small group of funders, who made three-year commitments of financial support. With about $600,000 in donations and an annual budget of $300,000 to $400,000, they were ready to go. “All of a sudden, that was a serious runway,” Rivard said. Persuading donors to make a multiyear commitment is key, Newman believes, to giving an organization the time and resources to establish itself.

The group created a board of seven people, although it plans to expand to about 15 as the nonprofit matures. The rationale is that a small, strongly committed board is more effective in the critical early stages of growth and development when decisions must be made quickly. Rivard was keen to foster a diversity of voices, so the organization created a community advisory board.

One of their first hires as a nonprofit was a development director who also was tasked with developing a business team and becoming the COO. She hired an advertising director, a membership director and an events coordinator, who built up a scaled membership program with options that include newsletters, invitations to events and public recognition. The Report has also created a corporate sponsorship program with tiered contribution levels.

The Report joined the Institute for Nonprofit News and the News Revenue Hub and participated in a Facebook Membership Accelerator program. The Revenue Hub helps with conceptualizing revenue generation, provides technology tools and hosts an active Slack channel. “Being part of other like-minded organizations has been a wonderful opportunity” to brainstorm, share experiences and learn from each other, said Jenna Price Mallette, chief operating officer.

Newman believes getting professional help in areas new to most journalists is key. “The fact that someone is a good editor doesn’t mean they are good at business,” Newman said. “Strategy is when unlimited aspirations meet limited resources.” Rivard agrees that “journalists traditionally aren’t good business people.” The Report has benefited from the business training he received at Northwestern University mid-career as a newspaper editor. Rivard has seen organizations burn through their capital and struggle. He urges others to follow his doctrine “never to spend money we didn’t have.”

“We are thoughtful and strategic,” Rivard said, so they tend not to be surprised or at loss about what to do as the business landscape changes. “We try to consider all the eventualities, what could happen, as well as identifying opportunities.” With a new publisher and CEO on board, the plan is to grow from a $2.5 million organization to a $5 million organization, with expanded reach, including more journalists, more podcasts, more civic engagement events.

“There is something about this model at this moment in time, when traditional, corporate-owned for-profit media is collapsing, to fill an important gap. It’s turning out to be what works,” Newman said.

Fundraising: Rivard spent years in San Antonio as a high-profile editor and entered this project with trusting relationships with community leaders and wealthy potential donors. He launched an active public outreach program focused on the decision to become a nonprofit and the opportunity to take the enterprise to the next level. He was surprised that once the organization was a nonprofit, “people in the community saw it as a public trust. They started to think I wasn’t in it for the money.” Community reaction was really positive, he said. “People really opened their pockets. It was almost like they owned it instead of us.”

The pitch was simple and direct: “Local communities without good news organizations are not good places to live.” Newman noted studies have found higher bond rates and quality of life issues in communities without robust local news.

The Report attracted individual donors the first year with a membership challenge grant. “People were excited. They wanted to be part of it. They wanted to help us reach that goal,” Mallette said. The Report currently is on a path to 3,000 members and wants to grow to 5,000.

Business membership is another program. For larger partners, The Report develops custom programs that mix some advertising, visibility opportunities, and event sponsorship.

Form of transition: The San Antonio Report was part of the for-profit Arsenal Group. The nonprofit San Antonio Report filed for IRS tax-exempt status in August 2015, and received approval in December. The San Antonio Report assets, except for some custom furniture pieces designed by Rivard’s son, were donated to the nonprofit. While awaiting the IRS decision, they used the Institute for Nonprofit News as their fiscal sponsor.

Current status: Conversion to nonprofit is complete.

Legal resource/attorneys: Roberto Rondero de Mosier, the general counsel of The Guild in Austin, Texas, and adjunct professor at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, provided legal assistance. Rivard said he found the legal process much less challenging than fundraising.

What changed: Membership campaigns, tiered business sponsorship opportunities and monthly events as a revenue source have changed as the Report grew. Some events are paid participation, but most are free as part of the nonprofit’s civic engagement program. “Membership Is a huge part of our success. Continuing to grow membership as a percentage of our revenue is an important part of the plan,” Mallette said.

As part of the long-term plan, Angie Mock was hired in December 2020 as publisher and CEO, and brings nonprofit sector and substantial fundraising experience in the region. Rivard was able to hand off fundraising and business operations to Mock and become the full-time editor. The Report is recruiting for a new editor, who they hope to have in place by midyear. This will allow Rivard to focus on his twice-weekly column and eventually retire.

Nonprofit funding mix: Membership campaigns, tiered business sponsorship opportunities and monthly events as a revenue source have changed as the Report grew. Some events are paid participation, but most are free as part of the nonprofit’s civic engagement program. “Membership Is a huge part of our success. Continuing to grow membership as a percentage of our revenue is an important part of the plan,” Mallette said.

As part of the long-term plan, Angie Mock was hired in December 2020 as publisher and CEO, and brings nonprofit sector and substantial fundraising experience in the region. Rivard was able to hand off fundraising and business operations to Mock and become the full-time editor. The Report is recruiting for a new editor, who they hope to have in place by midyear. This will allow Rivard to focus on his twice-weekly column and eventually retire.

What they wished they’d known: “We got in trouble when we made decisions that were reactive instead of slowing down, thinking about the impact and then making the decision,” Newman reflected.

Advice:

• In hiring, talent and skill matter, of course, but look for people who also are passionate and mission-driven. Curiosity and willingness to look at the data and pivot are fundamental.
• Ask your local community foundation and public broadcasting station to partner with you. They are natural partners, and public media already has a strong membership, fundraising and sponsorship model.
• “Civic engagement is the best way you can distinguish yourself from the for-profit, corporate-owned entities. You’re out there, you say to people: We’re from here, we live here, we’ll be here,” Rivard advised.
• Keep the initial board small, with people who have the mix of needed skills, time and dedication for the work and who can reach decisions quickly.
• Realize that training current board members and cultivation of future board members is a complex job needing attention.
• Training staff is important to help them and the organization grow. The Report’s staffers have worked with coaches, participated in local leadership training initiatives and have taken graduate courses in nonprofit leadership.
• Start small, and keep overhead low and know the organization can build as finances steady. Remember, at first good enough is good enough.
• Diversify your revenue mix. “We’re always looking at additional opportunities. You don’t want to rely on any particular stream,” Mallette said.
• Sustainability must be part of the organization’s culture. “This isn’t just something owned by the biz team,” Rivard said. “It has to be a commitment of the entire organization. Reporters need to get comfortable saying things like, ‘Thanks for the positive comments on my story. The best way to support us is to support our work. Please donate.’ ”
• Work your data and pivot based on what you learn. “You are basically in the experimenting business. Experiment your butt off,” Newman said.

For more information on the San Antonio Report’s transition to a nonprofit, see this Nieman writeup.