The Institute for Nonprofit News strengthens and supports 300 independent news organizations in a new kind of media network: nonprofit, nonpartisan and dedicated to public service. From local news to in-depth reporting on pressing global issues, INN’s members tell stories that otherwise would go untold – connecting communities, holding the powerful accountable and strengthening democracy. INN programs help these news organizations develop revenue and business models to support strong reporting, collaborate on editorial and business innovation, share services and advance the diverse leaders who are forging a new future for news.
INN’s vision is to build a nonprofit news network that ensures all people in every community have access to trusted news. To that end, we pursue our mission of providing education and business support services to our nonprofit member organizations and promoting the value and benefit of public-service and investigative journalism.
At INN, we believe that:
Grounded in hard data and the lived experience of our members, INN has an unparalleled depth of knowledge about nonprofit news. We know what’s working, what isn’t, what’s missing, and what’s possible now.
We use our informed perspective to design services with transformative potential for our members and field. INN’s top priorities — each of which contributes to the overarching goal of journalistic excellence — are to:
To see how we put our priorities into practice, view Our Work.
The organizations that comprise the INN network are diverse, with beats that range from the local to the global. Many cover communities, from neighborhoods to large metro areas. Others cover specific sectors, such as education, environment or healthcare. All use investigative and public-interest reporting to advance their mission.
Members’ high-impact stories have exposed corruption and inspired legal and policy reforms; alerted the public to environmental perils, financial scams and faulty products, and informed communities about the issues of business and government that affect daily life.
To be a member of INN, an organization must be organized as a 501(c)(3) corporation or be fiscally sponsored by one. It also must commit to INN’s Ethics & Practices Policies for editorial independence and transparency about funding sources. Learn more about membership standards.