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For the sixth straight year, the Rochester Beacon in 2024 surpassed its goal for NewsMatch, the nation’s largest grassroots fundraising campaign for nonprofit news.
From Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, the Beacon raised more than $21,000 from individual contributors, topping its $20,000 goal. In addition, the Beacon recently received $19,500 in matching funds and bonuses from the group of funders that support the nationwide campaign.
More than 160 local donors contributed to the Beacon during the NewsMatch campaign.
“We are deeply grateful to our readers, whose continued support enables our mission of delivering relevant, in-depth local news,” says Beacon publisher Alex Zapesochny. “Your trust and engagement inspire our team every day to pursue journalism that truly matters.”
Since its initial campaign nearly a decade ago, NewsMatch has been backed by a consortium of funders and supported by the Miami Foundation, which oversees the fiscal administration of NewsMatch funds. The campaign is managed by the Institute for Nonprofit News, a nationwide network of more than 400 independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organizations.
Each year gifts from national and local funders are pooled to match small-dollar donations by individuals to participating organizations, all of which have operating budgets below $1 million.
All NewsMatch participants are 501(c)(3) organizations or fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3), follow best practices in financial transparency, and publish original, high-quality reporting that is investigative or public service by nature. In addition, all are full members of INN.
In the 2024 campaign, 382 participating nonprofit newsrooms leveraged $7 million in NewsMatch funds to generate over $62 million in community support through individual donations and local matches.
“Since the Beacon’s start in October 2018, strong financial support from individual donors—and the substantial matching funds from NewsMatch—has made it possible for us to provide in-depth news coverage, analysis and opinion that everyone can access for free,” says Executive Editor Paul Ericson. The Beacon receives no government funding, he adds, underscoring the importance of donations.
In the 2024 campaign, the Beacon received $15,000 in main match funds, $2,500 in partner funds and a $2,000 new-donor bonus.
This additional funding is made possible by generous donors to NewsMatch, including Barr Foundation, DAFGiving 360, Democracy Fund, Heising-Simons Foundation, Henry-Luce Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation, Independence Public Media Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Kaphan Foundation, Loud Hound, Maida Lynn, McKnight Foundation, Solidarity Giving, Tow Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Wyncote Foundation, along with supporting partners across the U.S. and in-kind support from the New York Times.
The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].