Institute for Nonprofit News (INN)

Background

In 2009, journalists from 27 media organizations met at the Pocantico Center in New York, a historic home of the Rockefeller Family in Kykuit, New York operated as a conference center by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund for a conference funded by RBF, the Surdna Foundation, and William Penn Foundation. At the conference, participants, who included representatives from the Center for Public Integrity, National Public Radio, Center for Investigative Reporting, and Center for Public Integrity, signed the Pocantico Declaration, a document claiming that investigative reporting was “under threat” and vital to the health of “functioning democracy,” which established the Institute for Nonprofit News (then named the Investigate News Network). Later in March 2012, the organization was registered as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Los Angeles, California. ^{3 4 5}

In March 2015, the organization officially changed its name to the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) and a month later in April announced the departure of its then executive director Kevin Davis following a clash over differences in goals for the organization. According to reporting from NiemanLab, Davis had been interested in building programs that would help the institute’s member organizations become financially independent and less dependent on foundation grants whereas the board of the Institute was more interested in building out its business-education programming and further engaging in advocacy campaigns characterizing nonprofit journalism as a philanthropic cause. ⁶

As of 2023, the INN claimed to have over 425 member organizations. ⁴

In June 2024, the Institute released a 2023 Index Survey report detailing its findings on the nonprofit news sector: According to the report, the Institute claims that between 2022 and 2023, about half of outlets surveyed saw their overall revenue numbers increase, the number of local news groups surveyed in the index was up to 48% (as opposed to 46% in 2022), two-thirds of the nonprofits had at least three revenue streams (which was noted to be seen by older and larger nonprofit news groups), and nonprofits that spent at least 20% of their total budget reported larger median earnings. ⁷

Priorities and Membership Requirements

The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) claims to support critical race theory-aligned ideas and objectives such as a quote on its website reading “equity is fundamental” ⁸ to news coverage and that in journalism, “antiracism work is necessary.” ⁴ The INN also claims that one of its main priorities is to “center diversity, equity and inclusion” as “norms” in the field of journalism. ⁴ In addition, the INN also claims it requires member organizations to post a “value statement” detailing their policies on inclusion and equity as well as  report on the “full diversity” of the “communities” they serve. ^{8 4}

In 2023, INN accepted 48 percent of the newsrooms that applied to be members. The group stated, “The reasons for denial are various but tend to be that the organization receives too much anonymous funding, that it is not operationally independent from a larger organization, that it does not have full editorial independence (e.g., if it’s part of an advocacy-oriented nonprofit), or that the quality of the reporting is not high enough.” ⁹

Activities

NewsMatch

The Institute for Nonprofit News is the parent organization of NewsMatch, a fundraising group that supports nonprofit news organizations. The group was founded in 2017 with a donation from the Knight Foundation, and is also fiscally sponsored by the Miami Foundation. The group is reported to be “the largest collaborative fundraiser for nonprofit news in the U.S ^{10 11 12}

In 2024, NewsMatch helped INN members secure $55 million in individual donations from their audiences, which is an increase of 18 percent from 2023. In addition to providing a source of revenue for INN members, the NewsMatch program provides fundraising training for INN members. As of March 2025, NewsMatch raised over $400 million for INN members. ¹³

Members

Member organizations of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) include national left-of-center organizations such as Mother Jones, ProPublica, The Intercept, Pulitzer Center, and PolitiFact, as well as smaller local media and watchdog news groups such as the Adirondack Explorer, Alameda Post, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, New Pine Plains Herald, and Stocktonia News Service. ¹⁴

Funding

As of 2023, organizations that have provided financial support over $100,000 to the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) include the Democracy Fund, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Google News Initiative, Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust, Columbia University, Inasmuch Foundation, Miami Foundation, Present Progressive Fund at the Schwab Charitable Trust, and Walton Family Foundation. ²

Leadership

Executive Director & CEO

Karen Rundlet is the executive director and CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) as of 2025. Rundlet was appointed to the position in January 2024 following previous executive director and CEO Sue Cross stepping down. Rundlet previously worked as the senior director for the Knight Foundation’s “journalism program. ^{15 16}

Sue Cross was INN’s previous executive director and CEO, first being appointed in 2015 and holding the position until 2024. Prior to this, she was the senior vice president for the Associated Press global news agency ^{17 15}

Board Chair

Marcia Parker is the chair of the INN’s board of directors as well as the vice president of philanthropic partnerships at the New York Times. Previously, she was the chief operating officer of CalMatters, the executive director of content and audience engagement for Penton’s technology news portfolio, the editorial programming and audience development director at State.com, and the West Coast editorial director of Patch.com. ¹⁸

Other Staff

Lisa Gardner-Springer is the chief development officer of the INN. Previously, she was the senior director of institutional giving at Public Radio Exchange (PRX). ¹⁷

Soraya Membreno is the chief operating officer of the INN. Previously, she was the publisher of Bitch Media, a now-defunct feminist media organization. ^{19 17}