Gaining Ground: How Nonprofit News Ventures Seek Sustainability -- ConclusionsThe digital age has drastically and forever altered the landscape of local news. Faced with traditional media organizations that continue to reduce their resources committed to local news coverage, it's imperative to support approaches to safeguarding the supply and quality of local information and reporting.Nonprofit news organizations offer the potential to become part of the bedrock of a strong local news and information ecosystem. The field of nonprofit news, as illustrated by the 20 organizations profiled in this study, has continued to scale its impact and inch closer toward more sustainable business models. But progress has been uneven and for the majority of organizations in the study, sustainability is just a premise on the distant horizon.
However, several study findings and promising practices exhibited by nonprofit news ventures offer guideposts for the continued maturation of organizations in this field.Knight FoundationKF_a1198cd6-ebbf-11df-ae5d-52537a64ea2aIn the wake of the dramatic disruption in the news industry over the past decade, several nonprofit news ventures have sprouted to fill the void left in local news and reporting. Knight Foundation has invested in many of these nonprofit news organizations, seeking to promote stronger practices and ultimately the sustainability of these organizations.
This marks the third installment in a series of reports produced by Knight Foundation since 2011 tracking the progress of nonprofit news sites as they strive for sustainability...Nonprofit News OrganizationsSustainable nonprofit news ventures_41d6696a-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce344_41d6696b-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce344Nonprofit NewsSustainability for nonprofit news ventures will not be achieved through any silver bullet solution. SustainabilityPlanningBut with persistent planning, experimentation and learning, we hope these organizations will continue to flourish and play a strong role in building the supply and engagement with community news.ExperimentationLearningEngagementCommunityGoalsSet business goals_41d66c30-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce3441News ventures that have been intentional about their growth, including developing clear business plans and financial targets, have scaled their operations at a faster pace. For organizations to transition from surviving to thriving, they must spend more time planning for the future, not simply accounting for the present._41d66d7a-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce344ExperimentationExperiment with new services_41d66e06-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce3442Too few organizations have seriously piloted new earned income strategies, but the few that have tried have experienced initial successes attracting new forms of income, from native advertising to sponsorships for events and webinars. Lasting viability for nonprofit news ventures will only come with reduced reliability on fickle philanthropic funding._41d66e07-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce344InvestmentInvest in capacity, not just content_41d66f8c-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce3443Most organizations continue to devote the lion’s share of their budgets to editorial expenses, the lifeblood of their day-to-day work. News ventures that have grown, though, have consciously invested in future-oriented competencies, such as full-time staff in development and technical innovation, to increase engagement with online content._41d66f8d-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce344MembershipTransition from donor to membership model mentality_41d66f8e-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce3444News ventures have sought to build more robust membership programs that reward small donors with exclusive access to content and events. This offers the promise of more sizeable and stable long-term funding from individual supporters and strengthens relationships with their audiences, making news ventures more keenly aware of community needs and more likely to engage audiences to have an impact._41d671b2-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce344ImpactCapture and communicate impact in terms of clear reporting objectives_41d672ac-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce3445Plan for impact -- The reporting conducted by nonprofit news ventures has triggered meaningful actions and outcomes, though the manner in which most organizations discuss their impact is limited to simple Web metrics and occasional anecdotes. Nonprofits leading the way when it comes to capturing and communicating impact identify clear reporting objectives and ways they will measure those objectives from the outset._41d6732e-e188-11e4-94e1-8e0b548ce3442015-04-12OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net