The Imprint
The Imprint is an independent, nonprofit daily news publication that covers child welfare, juvenile justice, foster care, and youth policy for professionals, policymakers, advocates, foster and adoptive families, and current and former foster youth in the United States.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Imprint does
The Imprint is an independent, nonprofit daily news publication dedicated to covering child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, and educational issues affecting vulnerable children and families in the United States. Founded in 2013 and operated by Fostering Media Connections, it publishes original reporting, investigative series, opinion columns, and a weekly podcast, distributing content across its imprintnews.org website, a portfolio of regional and topical email newsletters (including California Watch, Georgia, Minnesota, New York Reader, Texas, Child Welfare Weekly, SafeCamp Audio, and Youth Voices Rising), and a weekly podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Its audience comprises child welfare professionals, policymakers, advocates, foster and adoptive families, current and former foster youth, and journalists.
The publication's core product is daily journalism, with a premium subscription column, Youth Services Insider, providing exclusive analysis of emerging trends in the child welfare system. The underlying technology is a WordPress-based content management system that hosts articles, podcasts, and multimedia, with no disclosed AI or proprietary platform features. The Imprint is a verified member of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), which lends nonprofit-journalism credibility.
Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring individual subscriptions ($79.95/year or $7.95/month) with a free trial conversion path and group/institutional discounts; charitable donations supported by matching campaigns such as Newsmatch; and podcast sponsorships from organizations serving the foster and child welfare ecosystem (iFoster, Sellers Dorsey, Lyssn, SpeakWrite). Customer segments span professionals, policymakers, families, lived-experience youth, and researchers, with no enterprise anchor contracts disclosed in the source data.
The Imprint firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Imprint
- Legal name
- The Imprint
- Website
- https://imprintnews.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Imprint is an independent, nonprofit daily news publication that covers child welfare, juvenile justice, foster care, and youth policy for professionals, policymakers, advocates, foster and adoptive families, and current and former foster youth in the United States.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where The Imprint is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Imprint business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Subscription Revenue: Annual and monthly subscription plans providing unlimited access to premium Youth Services Insider content and subscriber stories. Recurring revenue model with $79.95/year or $7.95/month pricing.
- Donations: Nonprofit organization supported by charitable donations from readers and supporters. Active donation campaigns including Newsmatch matching programs.
- Podcast Sponsorships: Podcast episodes include sponsors such as iFoster, Sellers Dorsey, Lyssn, SpeakWrite, and other organizations serving foster youth, generating sponsorship revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Subscription - Full access to premium content including Youth Services Insider |
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly Subscription - Full access to premium content |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Trial - Limited access to premium content |
| Subscription | Annual | Group/Institutional Discounts |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Imprint product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Imprint is an independent, nonprofit daily news publication that produces original journalism, investigative series, opinion columns, and a weekly podcast focused exclusively on the U.S. child welfare and juvenile justice systems. It distributes this content freely through its website and email newsletters, and monetizes premium access via paid subscriptions to its Youth Services Insider column, supplemented by reader donations and podcast sponsorships.
Product overview
The Imprint is a single, unified nonprofit news publication that delivers journalism across multiple formats: news articles, investigative special series, opinion columns, email newsletters, and a weekly podcast. Its premium subscription product, Youth Services Insider, provides exclusive content and is available through Annual ($79.95/year) or Monthly ($7.95/month) paid tiers, alongside a Free Trial option. The publication also offers several regional newsletters including Child Welfare Weekly, California Watch Monthly, Georgia Newsletter Monthly, Minnesota Newsletter Monthly, New York Reader Monthly, Texas Newsletter Monthly, SafeCamp Audio Newsletter Monthly, and Youth Voices Rising Bi-Weekly.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Youth Services Insider: Premium subscription column offering exclusive news and insight on child welfare and juvenile justice.
- The Imprint Weekly Podcast
- Fostering Families Today
Companies that use The Imprint
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Imprint technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Imprint partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- iFosterminorPodcast sponsor for multiple episodes of The Imprint Weekly Podcast. iFoster is an organization serving foster youth, and sponsors the podcast to reach the child welfare professional audience.
- Sellers DorseyminorPodcast sponsor for episodes discussing policy and child welfare funding issues.
- LyssnminorPodcast sponsor for episodes related to technology and AI in child welfare.
- SpeakWriteminorPodcast sponsor providing transcription services for protective services content.
- Institute for Nonprofit News (INN)coreThe Imprint is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News network, which provides organizational support, standards, and credibility for nonprofit journalism organizations.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Imprint competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Marshall Project: Nonprofit daily news outlet dedicated to the U.S. criminal justice system; parallels The Imprint's nonprofit, niche-vertical, investigation-driven model, with adjacent coverage of juvenile justice that directly overlaps with The Imprint's beat.
- Chalkbeat: Nonprofit news organization covering education policy with regional editions across multiple U.S. states, mirroring The Imprint's state-specific newsletter structure and education-adjacent coverage of vulnerable children.
- CalMatters: California-focused nonprofit news outlet running policy-driven coverage including a California Watch newsletter — a direct structural analog to The Imprint's California Watch Monthly edition.
- MindSiteNews: Nonprofit news outlet reporting on mental health, including mental-health-driven entries into the child welfare system — a direct topical overlap with The Imprint's mental-health and education coverage.
- The Imprint / Fostering Media Connections parent network: The Imprint operates within this parent nonprofit network; sister publications such as Fostering Families Today extend the brand across foster-care audiences with shared sponsorship and donor relationships.
- VTDigger: Nonprofit state-focused digital news organization using a similar reader-and-donor-supported model with topic-specific newsletters, illustrating the regional-nonprofit-news archetype The Imprint also inhabits.
- The Connecticut Mirror: State-level nonprofit news outlet covering policy and child welfare issues; analogous in funding model (donations + memberships), scale, and audience-segmentation approach to The Imprint's regional editions.
Broad incumbents
- ProPublica: Largest U.S. nonprofit investigative newsroom; competes for the same institutional donors, philanthropic matching programs (including Newsmatch), and investigative-journalism prestige as The Imprint.
- The Texas Tribune: Established state-level nonprofit news organization whose membership-and-events model and Texas-focused coverage overlap with The Imprint's Texas Newsletter Monthly and donor-supported structure.
- The 19th News: Nonprofit news organization covering gender and policy issues; comparable in mission-driven, member-supported structure with overlapping coverage of family, child welfare, and policy.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Imprint social profiles
Digital presenceThe Imprint financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Imprint leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Imprint funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Imprint M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Imprint
What does The Imprint do?
The Imprint is an independent, nonprofit daily news publication that produces original journalism, investigative series, opinion columns, and a weekly podcast focused exclusively on the U.S. child welfare and juvenile justice systems. It distributes this content freely through its website and email newsletters, and monetizes premium access via paid subscriptions to its Youth Services Insider column, supplemented by reader donations and podcast sponsorships.
Is The Imprint a public or private company?
The Imprint is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Imprint founded?
The Imprint was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Imprint based?
The Imprint is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Imprint make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Subscription Revenue is the primary driver. The others are donations and podcast Sponsorships.
Who are The Imprint's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Marshall Project, Chalkbeat, CalMatters, MindSiteNews, The Imprint / Fostering Media Connections parent network, VTDigger and The Connecticut Mirror. Broad incumbents are ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and The 19th News.
Does The Imprint have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Imprint.