I’ve been nervous about access to national funding for smaller nonprofit journalism outfits for some time. I’m more so after reading an interview Craig Newmark granted to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. In it, as outlined in a recent Nieman Lab piece, the Craigslist founder explains why he is pulling back from journalism projects.

“I really didn’t understand that audience development and related marketing needed to be a really big deal for everyone in journalism, and didn’t understand that very few really good journalists were aware of that, but I’ve started discussing that in maybe every engagement,” Newmark told Nieman Lab’s Sarah Scire.

This is the third major funder I’ve seen or heard about signaling their desire to reduce potential contributions in recent months.

I’ve been on both sides of the funding conversation in recent years, and we saw this day coming on the national level for some time. Many news organizations have jumped on the nonprofit bandwagon because they saw it as a solution, not the tax status it actually is. As friend and colleague Chris Krewson, executive director of Local Independent Online News Publishers, pointed out in his Nieman Lab prediction last month, risks, including neglecting how they are maintaining their books, are placing many newer independent for-profit and nonprofit publishers in harm’s way.

As a result, many of them need to do a better job outlining a realistic business plan. They also need to do a better job of educating local funders about their role, and helping the community understand theirs. It’s hard to do when potential supporters don’t truly understand the process.

People constantly tell me what I should be doing to raise funds, and then, far too often, they tell me about how I’m going to get millions from somewhere else, so I don’t need to be asking them for anything. When I mention that most of those opportunities are not for general operating but for projects that enable organizational growth (and most are not for anything close to $1 million), they’re shocked and don’t seem to want to believe this is the case.

Current and future grant requests to foundations and funders need to focus on how we establish and strengthen connections with the communities we serve, demonstrating long-term impact and potential financial benefits.

Here at AIIJ and BirminghamWatch,  if 1% of the population of Jefferson County (approximately 670,000 based on current U.S. Census data) supported us with a monthly contribution of $5, we’d have $402,000 available, or nearly three times what the organization has ever seen in recent years. This would:

• allow us to hire two full-time reporters at a living wage,
• make the lead editor a full-time position,
• increase the freelance budget, and
• provide a cushion to cover hosting and maintaining the website, media liability insurance, continuing education opportunities for staff, marketing on and offline, and a modest reserve.

That’s just at one percent. Imagine what would happen if we increased our reach even more? It’s possible. Imagine what that kind of increased support would make possible from outlets like Alabama Reflector, the Black Belt News Network, and WBHM? How does that change the conversations about the future of APT?

That’s what Newmark means when he poses the question, “Do the organizations have real plans to grow their audiences outside of their most faithful followers?”

There’s no one answer or approach to prepare for what’s ahead. But it is worth considering how we build enough trust and goodwill where we are to get the job done. Then, maybe, the national funders will follow.

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André Natta is the executive editor of BirminghamWatch and the executive director of its parent nonprofit organization, the Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism. 

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