"Press Forward aims to grow the overall investment in local news and strengthen communities across the country over the next five years by focusing on such shared values as equity, accessibility, collaboration and centering community needs. The vision of the founding coalition is to increase resourc ... es for local news by supporting efforts to move from individual grantmaking to a shared vision and coordinated action for investments in high-impact local news organizations and projects [...] The success of Press Forward is dependent on the involvement of national, regional and local funders. This guide is designed for funders at the local level. By engaging with community members and diverse stakeholders throughout the process of assessing your local news ecosystem and setting shared priorities, you can ensure that your investments are responding to the greatest news and information needs in your community [...] This resource is designed to provide background information and case studies to support local grantmakers and/or coalitions of grantmakers that want to start funding journalism or get involved with Press Forward. Since the conversations about local news and information are dependent on local relationships and knowledge, local chapters play an important role in Press Forward. Local chapters are led by local or regional coalitions committed to supporting local news information ecosystems. Many early chapters are led by an anchor partner, often a local foundation or ecosystem hub organization. Chapters must be approved by Press Forward and will receive guidance from advisers, access to a learning community and partnership in fundraising efforts." (Introduction, page 2) more

"The nonprofit news outlet, dedicated to providing coverage for and about immigrants and Minnesotans of color, launched in August 2019 with just one salaried employee—its founder and editor, Mukhtar Ibrahim. Two years later, the news outlet had 11 salaried employees and three contractors. The digi ... tal news organization is a fundraising powerhouse. In 2019, Sahan Journal brought in nearly $500,000 from supporters, including contributions from foundations and individuals. In 2020, it raised over $770,000 in total revenue, more than a 50% increase from the year before. And as of July 2021, it’s up to $1,240,000 in revenue. Compared with other local and state news outlets also founded in 2019, Sahan Journal has brought in roughly quadruple the median amount of revenue. And there’s more: Sahan Journal has dramatically grown its audience. In its first year of publication, Sahan Journal’s monthly uniques more than quadrupled and its email newsletter subscribers increased by 1,400%. And, as the audience grew, so did individual donations. The number of donors more than tripled from 253 in 2019 to 785 in 2020. One of the most important ways that Sahan Journal has achieved such financial success is by participating in NewsMatch, a collective fundraising campaign that pools matching gifts from national, regional, and local funders to inspire millions of small donations to support nonprofit journalism. During its first NewsMatch campaign, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, 2019, Sahan Journal raised $25,500 in individual donations. The following year, the nonprofit raised more than $58,000 in eligible donations during NewsMatch and—more notably—leveraged the program learnings to establish best fundraising practices and launch its own small-dollar donor fundraising campaigns. In total, Sahan Journal raised $110,000 from individual giving in 2020. Organizations like Sahan Journal that participate in NewsMatch don’t just receive matching funds. As part of the program, they are required to be members of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), which means they participate alongside a cohort of hundreds of other nonprofit news outlets. They also receive training resources and fundraising support from INN and learning partners like the News Revenue Hub. Altogether, participating organizations receive unrestricted financial support, new skills and tools to strengthen fundraising capabilities, and valuable engagement with supporters who care about quality news. This case study outlines Mukhtar’s vision, details how he and his staff have raised funds, and includes advice and tips for other news outlets looking to build support from individual donors and major funders." (Pages 1-2) more