Beacon’s annual matching-gift campaign to begin

The Rochester Beacon again has been selected to participate in NewsMatch, the nation’s largest annual fundraising campaign for nonprofit news. The campaign starts Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 31.

Since 2017, NewsMatch has helped nonprofit newsrooms raise more than $400 million. 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.

To date, 490,000 people nationwide have donated to nonprofit news for the first time during NewsMatch, enabling newsrooms to raise a total of $333 million.

NewsMatch this year will match, dollar for dollar, up to $1,000 per donor, with a cap of $15,000 per participating nonprofit news organization.

The campaign is managed by the Institute for Nonprofit News, a nationwide network of 450 independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organizations. This year, 422 news outlets are participating in NewsMatch, up from 381 a year ago.

NewsMatch has nearly 20 key national funders: Barr Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Democracy Fund, Golden Globe Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation, Independence Media, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Kaphan Foundation, Knight Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Solidarity Giving, Tow Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Wyncote Foundation. This is a collaborative fund held at the Miami Foundation, with in-kind support provided by the New York Times and campaign support provided by the News Revenue Hub.

“Support from our readers makes everything we do possible,” says Alex Zapesochny, publisher of the Rochester Beacon. “NewsMatch amplifies that support, helping us sustain independent, in-depth reporting that serves the Greater Rochester community.”

Starting Saturday, Nov. 1, you can make a NewsMatch donation to the Rochester Beacon online by going to the donation page.

To be eligible for NewsMatch, donations must be made by individuals—personally, or through a business they own, a family foundation or donor-advised fund. They also must be made during the campaign period, Nov. 1 through Dec. 31.

“This is our seventh year as a NewsMatch participant. Without this matching-dollar campaign, we would not be able to provide high-quality, nonprofit local journalism that everyone can access for free,” Executive Editor Paul Ericson says.

“Once again our goal for donations from individual contributors is $20,000,” he adds. “We have surpassed this goal each year, and we believe our generous supporters will put us over the top again in 2025.”

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.

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].