Institute for Nonprofit News

What Institute for Nonprofit News does

The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), founded in 2009 and headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit field-building organization that operates the largest network of nonprofit, nonpartisan news organizations in North America. INN serves approximately 500 member newsrooms and 4,100 journalists through a portfolio of programs that includes the annual INN Index research study (covering revenue, staffing, audience, and DEI metrics since 2018), Index Pods (peer benchmarking across 16 categories), NewsMatch (the largest collaborative fundraising campaign for U.S. nonprofit journalism, having raised over $150 million cumulatively since 2017), the INN Days annual conference, the Nonprofit News Awards (INNYs), the FindYourNews.org directory, the Rural News Network (95+ newsrooms), editorial collaborations, fiscal sponsorship, and a suite of operational resource hubs (Audience, Fundraising, Press Freedom & Safety). INN does not operate as a software-as-a-service product; it provides research, capacity-building, collective fundraising, peer learning, and advocacy services to its members.

Revenue is generated through five streams: membership dues (undisclosed tiered rates, subscription recurring), foundation and corporate grants from Google News Initiative, Knight, MacArthur, Democracy Fund, and other major foundations (professional services / grants), individual donations, event registration fees for INN Days and pre-conference workshops (including $29 workshop tickets and member discounts), and fiscal sponsorship fees for news startups. Customer segments include nonprofit news organizations (primary), news startups and entrepreneurs, foundations and corporate funders, and academics/researchers. INN's go-to-market combines sales outreach, member word-of-mouth, the annual conference as a flagship acquisition event, and community-led growth through Slack channels, listservs, and the INNovation newsletter reaching approximately 7,000 readers.

Under the current leadership of Executive Director Karen Rundlet (since January 2024), the organization operates with a staff of approximately 23 employees as of February 2025 and reports no parent company or controlling entity, governed instead by a board representing member organizations and outside experts.

Name

Institute for Nonprofit News

Legal name

Institute for Nonprofit News

Website

https://inn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Institute for Nonprofit News is a 501(c)(3) field-building organization supporting 500 nonprofit, nonpartisan news organizations across North America through research (INN Index), collaborative fundraising (NewsMatch), peer benchmarking (Index Pods), an annual conference, and capacity-building resource hubs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit News Network / Media Trade Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

News Agencies & Wire Services (General & Specialized) (MPAJADAE), Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data) (MPAJADAK)

Keywords

• Nonprofit news network
• Media industry research
• Journalism capacity building
• Collaborative fundraising programs
• Newsroom benchmarking services

Headquarters

HQ city

Encino

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Nonprofit news organizations pay membership dues to join the INN Network, gaining access to resources, benchmarking data, and collective programs.
2. Foundation and Corporate Grants: Major foundation funding from Google News Initiative, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Democracy Fund, and others. Event sponsorships from companies including Associated Press, Canva, Microsoft, New York Times.
3. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute at various levels, with a list of donors above $100 mentioned on the supporters page.
4. Event Registration Fees: INN Days conference tickets sold at Early Bird and INN member rates. Pre-conference workshops priced at $29 each. Nonprofit News Awards tickets available separately.
5. Fiscal Sponsorship Program: INN provides fiscal sponsorship services to news startups, generating fees for the organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) is a 501(c)(3) membership-based field-building organization that supports a network of 500+ nonprofit, nonpartisan news organizations across North America. Its core offerings include the INN Index (annual research dataset and benchmarking survey), NewsMatch (the largest collaborative fundraising campaign for nonprofit journalism, having raised $150M+ cumulatively), the INN Days annual conference, the Nonprofit News Awards (INNYs), Index Pods peer benchmarking, Ask the Index custom research services, fiscal sponsorship, and a suite of guides, hubs, and peer community resources for nonprofit newsrooms.

Product overview

The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) operates a network-based platform of services supporting 500 nonprofit news organizations across North America. The core offerings include the INN Index (annual research dataset and benchmarking surveys), Index Pods (peer-group benchmarking across 16 categories), NewsMatch (the largest collaborative fundraising campaign for nonprofit journalism, raising over $150 million cumulatively), INN Days (annual conference), Nonprofit News Awards (INNYs), and the FindYourNews.org member directory. These are supported by operational resources including an INN Member Portal (MemberSuite-based), Audience Hub, Press Freedom & Safety Hub, Fundraising & Revenue Hub, Fiscal Sponsorship, Editorial Collaborations, Rural News Network (RNN), Emerging Leaders Council, and a suite of practical Guides covering startup, conversion, earned revenue, and collective fundraising. INN does not operate as a software-as-a-service product but as a field-building membership organization providing research, collective fundraising, peer learning, advocacy, and operational support services to nonprofit newsrooms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• INN Index The most comprehensive annual dataset and recurring survey on nonprofit news in North America, tracking revenue, staffing, expenses, audience, distribution, and DEI metrics across INN's membership of 400+ outlets since 2018. The 2026 edition (9th) covered 412 member newsrooms and added analysis of AI adoption impacts.
• Index Pods

Quantifiable outcome

• $150 million+ raised through NewsMatch for nonprofit newsrooms since 2017
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• News Revenue HubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides resources on digital fundraising best practices, audience development, newsletter engagement, and membership conversion. Produces the NewsMatch Campaign Toolkit with templates, banner ads, and social media assets.
• Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh DowntownminorOthersConference venue for INN Days 2026. Located at 600 Commonwealth Pl, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Provides special room rates of $239 per night for attendees.
• INN Days 2026 SponsorscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMultiple sponsors including Knight Foundation, Google News Initiative, Driehaus Foundation, BlueLena, Lenfest, Maynard Institute, News Revenue Hub, Newspack, New York Times, Reporters Shield, Voter Guide OS, Sciline, AP Fact Check, and others. Sponsorship options available at various tiers.
• Missouri School of JournalismminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for internship program placing diverse students into member newsrooms. In 2024, member newsrooms hosted 4 paid interns and fellows through this partnership.
• FindYourNews.orgminorOthersINN's member directory website where users can find nonprofit news organizations. Part of INN's network infrastructure.
• Apple NewsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorINN successfully advocated for new pathways for members to get coverage featured on Apple News, where a featured story can reach millions.
• SmartNews IncminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorINN advocated for new pathways for members to distribute content on SmartNews, where featured stories can reach millions.
• The New York TimesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsor and provides in-kind support for NewsMatch.
• Associated PressminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsor for INN Days.
• CanvaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsor for INN Days.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• The News Literacy Project: The News Literacy Project is a nonprofit advancing news literacy education and combating misinformation. It operates adjacent to INN's mission of supporting trustworthy nonprofit journalism and addressing the demand side of the news-trust problem INN's members combat.

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Broadcasters (NAB): NAB is the trade association for U.S. broadcasters, providing advocacy, education, and events to a member network. As a large, established trade/membership association with a major annual conference, it represents the broader incumbency INN operates within in the journalism field.
• News/Media Alliance: News/Media Alliance is the largest trade association for news publishers (formerly the Newspaper Association of America). It advocates for news publishers on policy and platform issues - including deals with Apple News and Google - the same platform-distribution leverage INN pursues for its nonprofit members.
• Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ): SPJ is the largest journalism professional association in the U.S., advancing ethical standards, training, and awards across the field. INN's membership-standards and editorial-independence framework parallels SPJ's Code of Ethics focus, and both serve overlapping journalist constituencies.

Direct peers

• Reporters Committee for Freedom of Press: RCFP provides legal resources and advocacy for journalists and news organizations, including through its Press Freedom & Safety Hub-style programming. Its ProJourn legal resources are explicitly referenced in INN's offering, making it a direct peer in the legal-support and press-freedom space.
• Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN): AAN is a membership organization serving independent, alternative, and local news publishers across North America. It operates industry awards, conferences, and revenue programs with a similar field-building mandate as INN but oriented around alternative weekly and city publications.
• American Press Institute: API is a nonprofit that conducts research, training, and consulting to help news organizations thrive. Its research and newsroom-training work overlaps with INN's INN Index research and capacity-building programs for member nonprofit newsrooms.
• Online News Association (ONA): ONA is the world's largest digital-news community with a membership model, annual conference, and training programs serving news innovators. Its focus on innovative, sustainable digital journalism parallels INN's emphasis on nonprofit news sustainability, audience growth, and technology adoption.
• LION (Local Independent Online News) Publishers: LION Publishers is a membership organization supporting independent local online news businesses. Like INN, it provides peer learning, training, and capacity-building for a member network focused on local journalism sustainability, making it the closest direct peer in mission and operating model.
• Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE): IRE is a nonprofit membership organization serving investigative journalists with training, conferences, and awards. INN's Nonprofit News Awards and investigative-reporting emphasis on member newsrooms overlap directly with IRE's mission of advancing investigative journalism.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/inn
• Facebookfacebook.com/investigativenewsnetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institutefornonprofitnews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute for Nonprofit News