Document details

Getting Local: How Nonprofit News Ventures Seek Sustainability

Miami: Knight Foundation (2011), 27 pp.

CC BY-NC

"This report is based on an extensive analysis of several nonprofit news sites conducted by Community Wealth Ventures (CWV), a management consulting firm that focuses on innovative approaches to the growth and sustainability of nonprofit organizations. Knight Foundation commissioned the review as part of its broader programmatic efforts to explore how journalism that informs local communities and holds institutions accountable might survive and thrive in the digital age. The study examined the state of eight organizations in 2009 to early 2010 with particular emphasis on social impact, business strategy, economic viability, adaptability and capacity – all components of long-term sustainability. The sites reviewed were The Bay Citizen (San Francisco), Crosscut (Seattle), MinnPost (Minnesota), New Haven Independent, St. Louis Beacon, The Texas Tribune and Voice of San Diego. An eighth site, Chi-Town Daily News, closed in 2009 while the study was under way." (About the report)
1. Introduction, 5
2. Beyond the Cost-Revenue Equation: A Way to Think About Sustainability, 7
3. Social Value Creation, 8
Mission and Audience: Who are the sites trying to reach? -- Reach and Engagement: Are they attracting users? -- Measuring Impact: Can they show they matter?
4. Economic Value Creation, 14
5. Organizational Capacity 22
Resource Allocation: How are they spending their capital? -- Adaptation and Innovation: How are they evolving?
6. Conclusion, 26