Nonprofit Newsroom Survival Guide (part two)

Last month we wrote about survival strategies for nonprofit investigative journalism organizations. More than 100 of these groups now exist worldwide, and we’re working with many of them to ensure that they’re still around in a year or two. As we stressed in that story, key to succeeding in the long term is diversifying revenue. Smart news nonprofits have multiple revenue streams, ranging from grants and individual donations to story fees, public events, and advertising.

GIJN’s colleagues at the Los Angeles-based Investigative News Network recently put together a useful infographic on the varied sources of revenue that groups can tap into. INN is an association of more than 80 nonprofits in North America, and many of their members are working hard on business plans and sustainability strategies.

At the annual Investigative Reporters and Editors conference, June 20-23 in San Antonio, Texas, INN will hold a full day of tips and techniques on managing nonprofit newsrooms. Included will be sessions on fundraising, best practices, branding, and membership. The event, on June 20, is free to anyone registered for the IRE conference (but you need to register in advance).

GIJN’s staff will be there, and we’ll be working with INN to do similar sessions at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Rio de Janeiro this October. Nonprofit news managers: hope to see you in San Antonio or Rio!