Strategizing Sustainability in Nonprofit News: Revenue Preferences of Newsroom Leaders

Abstract

Newsroom leaders, particularly at the local level, have been interested in nonprofit models due to their perceived alignment with journalism’s public service mission, as well as their potential to open up new revenue streams, such as donations from individuals and grants from foundations. Still, sustainability remains a concern for news nonprofits. Modern portfolio theory suggests revenue diversity may be able to help nonprofit organizations improve sustainability. However, “diversity” has been inconsistently defined, and more nuanced analyses of nonprofit fundraising strategies and challenges are needed, particularly in the news sector. This interview-based study thus aims to build on prior applications of MPT to nonprofit sustainability by examining the fundraising priorities and strategies of 23 local nonprofit news leaders. While leaders supported revenue diversity in principle, increasing the number of revenue categories was less important to them than finding revenues that met specific criteria. That is, newsroom leaders valued revenue sources that could leverage additional support, align with organizational missions, and be renewable. This study thus supports on prior research on nonprofit leadership and can help guide foundations and others attempting to help nonprofit journalism achieve sustainability.