embarcadero media foundation
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1979
- HeadquartersPalo Alto, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
embarcadero media foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- embarcadero media foundation
- Legal name
- Embarcadero Media Foundation
- Website
- https://embarcaderomediafoundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1979
- Operating status
- Operating
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
embarcadero media foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Local News Media
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)
Keywords
Where embarcadero media foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palo Alto
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
embarcadero media foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Advertising & Sponsorship: Traditional advertising and sponsorship revenue from newspapers and websites. Readers are described as educated, affluent (54.1% make $100-400k/year), homeowners who engage with local businesses.
- Charitable Donations: Community donations from individuals, foundations, and major donors supporting nonprofit journalism. The organization is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity.
- Major Donor Program: Major donor and corporate sponsorship program. Donors contributing more than $5,000 per calendar year are publicly acknowledged.
- Planned Giving: Estate planned gifts including bequests, IRA beneficiary designations, and Donor Advised Fund successor beneficiary designations.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
embarcadero media foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Embarcadero Media Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that publishes local journalism through three weekly community newspapers, seven hyperlocal news websites and six opt-in email newsletters serving the Midpeninsula and East Bay's Tri-Valley. Its reporting covers local government, schools, public safety, community institutions and complex quality-of-life issues, with advertising, sponsorships and charitable donations supporting the work.
Product overview
Embarcadero Media Foundation operates a network of local news publications combining print newspapers and digital platforms. The portfolio consists of three community newspapers (Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac, Pleasanton Weekly) and seven hyperlocal news websites (Palo Alto Online, Mountain View Voice, The Almanac website, RWC Pulse, Livermore Vine, Danville San Ramon) serving the Midpeninsula and Tri-Valley regions. Supporting digital offerings include specialty publications The Six Fifty, Peninsula Foodist, and Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, distributed via six email newsletters totaling over 122,000 subscribers. The organization also organizes the annual Peninsula Restaurant Week event. Combined, the digital properties reach approximately 2.68 million average monthly visitors, with a print circulation exceeding 39,000 across the three weekly newspapers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Palo Alto Weekly: Weekly community newspaper serving Palo Alto area with circulation of 20,000
- The Almanac
- Pleasanton Weekly
- Palo Alto Online
- Mountain View Voice
- The Six Fifty
- RWC Pulse
- Livermore Vine
- Danville/San Ramon
Products and services
- Palo Alto Weekly Weekly community newspaper serving Palo Alto, published in print and updated continuously online.
- The Almanac Weekly community newspaper serving Menlo Park, with a corresponding online news website.
- Pleasanton Weekly Weekly community newspaper serving Pleasanton in the Tri-Valley area, with online updates.
- Palo Alto Online 24/7 local news and information website serving Palo Alto, averaging 798,787 monthly visits.
- Mountain View Voice Community news website serving Mountain View, averaging 467,689 monthly visits.
- RWC Pulse Community news website serving Redwood City, averaging 120,635 monthly visits.
- Livermore Vine Community news website serving Livermore, averaging 79,612 monthly visits.
- Danville San Ramon Community news website serving Danville and San Ramon, averaging 230,128 monthly visits.
- The Six Fifty Digital publication covering culture, food and lifestyle on the Peninsula, averaging 16,000 monthly visits.
- Peninsula Foodist Digital dining coverage and email newsletter focused on Peninsula restaurants, with 16,100 subscribers.
- Tri-Valley Preps Playbook Sports coverage and email newsletter focused on Tri-Valley high-school athletics, with 2,000 subscribers.
- Express Daily News Headlines Daily email newsletter delivering local news headlines, with 67,700 opt-in subscribers.
- Weekend Express Email newsletter featuring weekend events and entertainment, with 28,000 subscribers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Raises over $1M annually for Bay Area nonprofits through Holiday Fund campaigns
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use embarcadero media foundation
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
embarcadero media foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
embarcadero media foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Institute for Nonprofit NewsminorDeveloped donor transparency policy and editorial independence policy in accordance with standards developed by the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). Organization is a member of INN.
- Bay Area NonprofitsminorRaises over $1M annually for Bay Area nonprofits serving children, families and the underprivileged through Holiday Fund campaigns.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
embarcadero media foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- VTDigger: Vermont-focused nonprofit digital news organization. Directly comparable as a smaller-scale nonprofit news outlet that transitioned from for-profit to nonprofit and relies on donations, memberships, and foundation grants to fund in-depth local reporting.
- The Connecticut Mirror: Nonprofit, state-focused digital news organization covering Connecticut policy. Comparable in structure and scale to Embarcadero, with a similar donor- and foundation-supported model for original reporting and newsletters.
- LAist: LA-based nonprofit local newsroom that became part of Southern California Public Radio. Operates with a similar nonprofit, multi-platform community news model combining digital reporting, newsletters, and events, and shares Embarcadero's reliance on donations and foundation support.
- Voice of San Diego: Pioneering nonprofit local news organization covering the San Diego region. Directly comparable in structure (501(c)(3), donor-funded, member-supported local journalism) and audience model, with similar reliance on foundation and major-donor support for investigative local reporting.
- CalMatters: California-focused nonprofit news organization producing in-depth coverage of statewide policy. Highly comparable as a 501(c)(3) news nonprofit that combines donor funding, foundation grants, and major-donor programs to fund investigative and explanatory journalism, though at a broader statewide scale.
- Block Club Chicago: Nonprofit, neighborhood-focused news organization covering Chicago. Closely comparable as a donor-supported, multi-neighborhood local newsroom with multiple newsletters, strong editorial brand, and similar nonprofit revenue mix.
Broad incumbents
- San Francisco Chronicle: The dominant daily newspaper serving the broader Bay Area. Represents the broader regional incumbent that competes for Bay Area advertiser budgets and reader attention, but does not specialize in hyperlocal Midpeninsula or Tri-Valley coverage.
- The Texas Tribune: One of the largest nonprofit state-level newsrooms in the U.S. Operates with a similar 501(c)(3), donor-funded model but at significantly greater scale (statewide, larger staff), serving as a benchmark for what a mature nonprofit news organization can become.
- Bay Area News Group: The largest regional newspaper chain in the San Francisco Bay Area, publishing the Mercury News, East Bay Times, and other dailies. Comparable as a regional news competitor for SMB advertising and audience attention across overlapping East Bay and Peninsula geographies.
Regional players
- Lookout Santa Cruz: Independent, digital-first local news organization covering Santa Cruz County. Comparable as a digital-focused community news outlet with a multi-platform newsletter and event strategy, though serving an adjacent rather than overlapping Bay Area geography.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
embarcadero media foundation social profiles
Digital presenceembarcadero media foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
embarcadero media foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
embarcadero media foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
embarcadero media foundation 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 embarcadero media foundation
What does embarcadero media foundation do?
Embarcadero Media Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that publishes local journalism through three weekly community newspapers, seven hyperlocal news websites and six opt-in email newsletters serving the Midpeninsula and East Bay's Tri-Valley. Its reporting covers local government, schools, public safety, community institutions and complex quality-of-life issues, with advertising, sponsorships and charitable donations supporting the work.
Is embarcadero media foundation a public or private company?
embarcadero media foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was embarcadero media foundation founded?
embarcadero media foundation was founded in 1979.
Where is embarcadero media foundation based?
embarcadero media foundation is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States, in the North America region.
How does embarcadero media foundation make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Advertising & Sponsorship is the primary driver. The others are charitable Donations, major Donor Program and planned Giving.
Who are embarcadero media foundation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are VTDigger, The Connecticut Mirror, LAist, Voice of San Diego, CalMatters and Block Club Chicago. Broad incumbents are San Francisco Chronicle, The Texas Tribune and Bay Area News Group. Lookout Santa Cruz is listed as a regional player.
Does embarcadero media foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for embarcadero media foundation.
What industry is embarcadero media foundation in?
embarcadero media foundation's product category is Local News Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAF, Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations, with a secondary code of MPAJADAH, Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2711.