What Conecta Arizona does

Conecta Arizona is a nonprofit, Spanish-language community journalism outlet founded on May 11, 2020, by journalist Maritza L. Félix in Phoenix, Arizona, during the COVID-19 pandemic, initially as a WhatsApp-based news verification service to combat misinformation in the Hispanic, migrant, and border community. The platform has since expanded into a multi-format community news operation spanning a website (WordPress on Indiegraf Media), a near-1,000-subscriber weekly newsletter, the weekly La Hora del Cafecito WhatsApp expert sessions, the Cruzando Líneas cross-border podcast, electoral guides covering 30+ Arizona legislative districts, the Migrantesdesaparecidos.com missing-migrants project, and a community events calendar, with reporting presence in Phoenix, Tucson, and Hermosillo, Sonora. Its underlying technology is a community-led distribution stack — WhatsApp as the primary engagement channel, paired with social media and email — augmented by AI-assisted editorial tools (ChequeaBot, Sonix, CapCut, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini) operating under a documented human-in-the-loop review policy.

The business model is a nonprofit donor-and-sponsorship engine: reader donations processed via Stripe in tiers at $15/month, $25/month (most popular), $75 and $100 one-time, and custom amounts of $5 or more, with tax-deductible receipts for donations over $250 routed through fiscal sponsor Alternative Newsweekly Foundation. Secondary revenue comes from selective newsletter and website advertising and custom content sponsorships targeting organizations seeking access to the hyperlocal Arizona-Sonora Hispanic audience. Content is free to access; there is no paywall. The organization operates with a lean 7-person team across correspondent offices in Phoenix, Tucson, and Hermosillo, and is affiliated with industry bodies including LION Publishers, the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), and Listening Post Collective.

Name

Conecta Arizona

Legal name

Conecta Arizona

Website

https://conectaarizona.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Conecta Arizona is a nonprofit, Spanish-language community journalism outlet serving the Hispanic, migrant, and border community in Arizona and Sonora, distributing verified news via WhatsApp, a near-1,000-subscriber newsletter, podcasts, and a website, and funded primarily through reader donations and selective sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Spanish-language community journalism

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

akta.pro primary industry

Local/Regional News Channels (MPABAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

News & Current Affairs Aggregators (MPACAKAA)

Keywords

• Spanish-language journalism
• Community news
• Border reporting
• Nonprofit media
• Immigration news

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix, Arizona

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Reader Donations / Membership: Conecta Arizona operates as a nonprofit and accepts reader donations through monthly recurring plans ($15/month, $25/month) and one-time contributions ($75, $100, or custom amounts). Payments are processed via Stripe. Alternative Newsweekly Foundation serves as the fiscal sponsor for tax-deductible donations over $250.
2. Newsletter and Website Advertising: The outlet offers advertising opportunities in its weekly newsletter and on its website to select organizations and businesses targeting the hyperlocal Hispanic audience in Arizona and Sonora. Sponsors receive brand recognition while supporting community journalism. The outlet is selective with advertising partners to maintain community trust.
3. Sponsored Content and Custom Sponsorships: Conecta Arizona offers custom content sponsorship and personalized sponsorship opportunities for advertisers seeking alternatives to standard advertising placements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Conecta Arizona is a nonprofit Spanish-language community journalism outlet that produces verified local news, immigration resources, and cross-border reporting for the Hispanic, migrant, and border communities of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. Content is distributed primarily through WhatsApp, a weekly email newsletter, a website, a podcast, and social media, and is supported by reader donations, advertising, and sponsorships.

Product overview

Conecta Arizona operates as a unified nonprofit Spanish-language community journalism platform serving the Hispanic, migrant, and border community across Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. The core offering is the Conecta Arizona news platform distributed primarily through WhatsApp and social media, complemented by several integrated sub-products: the Cruzando Líneas podcast (border narratives), La Hora del Cafecito (weekly WhatsApp expert sessions), a weekly newsletter reaching nearly 1,000 subscribers, electoral guides, a community events calendar, and Migrantesdesaparecidos.com (documenting missing migrants). The portfolio is interconnected through the organization's commitment to community-centered journalism delivered via the digital channels most accessible to the target audience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cruzando Líneas: A podcast of new border narratives created by Conecta Arizona founder Maritza L. Félix, exploring stories from the US-Mexico border region.
• La Hora del Cafecito

Products and services

• Conecta Arizona news platform Nonprofit Spanish-language community journalism platform delivering verified local news, immigration resources, elections coverage, and cross-border reporting for the Hispanic, migrant, and border community in Arizona and Sonora, distributed via website, WhatsApp, newsletter, and social media.
• Cruzando Líneas podcast Podcast series of new border narratives created by founder Maritza L. Félix, covering cross-border stories and issues relevant to the Arizona-Sonora region.
• La Hora del Cafecito Weekly live WhatsApp session featuring an invited expert answering questions from community participants on topics including health, immigration, psychology, economics, art, sports, meditation, cybersecurity, social issues, and organizational leadership.
• Boletín Semanal (Weekly Newsletter) Weekly email newsletter reaching nearly 1,000 subscribers with news, resources, interviews, and real stories for the Hispanic, migrant, and border community in Arizona and Sonora.
• Guías Electorales (Electoral Guides) Electoral guides providing information on candidates and proposals for primary and general elections in Arizona, covering federal, state, and local races across 30+ legislative districts for the 2026 primary cycle.
• Eventos (Community Events Calendar) Community events calendar featuring local events in Arizona and Sonora, with options to subscribe via Google Calendar, iCalendar, or Outlook.
• Migrantesdesaparecidos.com Dedicated website created by Tucson correspondent Paula Díaz to document and highlight families searching for missing migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Comadres al Aire podcast Podcast featuring conversations on community topics where Maritza Félix serves as co-producer and co-host.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached nearly 1,000 newsletter subscribers as of 2026, growing daily
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• LION PublishersminorOthersConecta Arizona is a member of LION Publishers (Local Independent Online News Publishers), as shown in the website footer logo. LION supports independent local online news publishers.
• INN (Institute for Nonprofit News)minorOthersConecta Arizona is a member of INN as indicated by the website footer logo. INN supports nonprofit news organizations through resources, networking, and best practices.
• Listening Post CollectiveminorOthersConecta Arizona is listed as a partner of Listening Post Collective as shown in the footer. Listening Post Collective supports community-centered news organizations.
• Indiegraf MediacoreTechnology or IntegrationConecta Arizona's website is powered by Indiegraf Media, as stated in the footer. Indiegraf provides the publishing platform and technology infrastructure for the news outlet, including advertising technology for Indie Ads.
• Alternative Newsweekly FoundationcoreOthersAlternative Newsweekly Foundation is the fiscal sponsor for Conecta Arizona, enabling the organization to accept tax-deductible donations from readers and donors. Donations over $250 are processed through this fiscal sponsor to provide tax receipts.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Peers

• Factchequeado:

Direct peers

• Palabra (NAHJ): Palabra is the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' nonprofit digital news platform for Hispanic journalism. It is comparable to Conecta Arizona as a peer nonprofit Spanish/English news outlet serving Hispanic communities, although it operates nationally rather than hyperlocally.
• Arizona Luminaria: Arizona-based nonprofit digital news outlet covering local and state issues in English and Spanish. It is the closest peer to Conecta Arizona: similar nonprofit model, similar Arizona focus, and overlapping bilingual audience, with the main difference being Arizona Luminaria's broader English/Spanish coverage versus Conecta's exclusively Spanish and Mexico-cross-border orientation.
• La Estrella de Tucsón: La Estrella de Tucsón is Tucson's Spanish-language print and digital newspaper, part of the Lee Enterprises network. It is a direct local peer covering the same Arizona-Sonora Hispanic market, with a longer print history but a less community-engaged, nonprofit-style model.
• Puente News Collective: Puente News Collective is a nonprofit, community-led Spanish/bilingual news outlet focused on immigrant and Latino communities in the U.S. South. It shares Conecta Arizona's nonprofit, community-first, WhatsApp-adjacent distribution ethos and is one of the closest model analogues, although its geography is different.
• Reportar sin Miedo: Reportar sin Miedo is a cross-border investigative reporting collaborative covering Mexico and U.S. Latino communities. It is a direct peer in the cross-border, Spanish-language, accountability-journalism space and overlaps with Conecta Arizona's Migrantesdesaparecidos.com project.
• Enlace Latino NC: Enlace Latino is a bilingual nonprofit digital news outlet serving Hispanic communities in North Carolina. It is structurally comparable to Conecta Arizona as a small, mission-driven, community-centered newsroom using digital channels to reach Spanish-speaking readers underserved by mainstream media.

Regional players

• Radio Bilingüe: Radio Bilingüe is a nonprofit Spanish/English public radio network based in California serving Latino communities across the western U.S. It is a comparable mission-driven, Spanish-language community media outlet, but operates primarily via radio and in a different (California-anchored) region than Conecta Arizona's Arizona-Sonora focus.

Broad incumbents

• Telemundo Arizona (KTAZ): Telemundo's Phoenix/Tucson stations are the second major Spanish-language broadcast presence in Arizona. As a broad incumbent, Telemundo competes for the same advertisers and audience attention, though its format is TV-driven rather than WhatsApp/community-led.
• Univision Arizona: Univision's Arizona local affiliate is the dominant Spanish-language broadcaster in the state and covers the same Hispanic audience Conecta Arizona targets. It is a broad incumbent — far larger and mass-market — but its presence defines the competitive set for Spanish-language news in Arizona.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/maritzalfelix
• Facebookfacebook.com/maritza.felixjournalist
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/conectaarizona
• Instagraminstagram.com/maritza.felixjournalist

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Conecta Arizona