Funding for investigative journalism is spread across nonprofit revenue, foundation grants, individual donors, earned income, newsroom salary programs, and project crowdfunding. The latest Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) figures show a median member-outlet revenue of $532,000 in 2024, while global programs such as the Pulitzer Center and Report for the World measured support through projects, journalists, countries, and reporter salaries. Historical Kickstarter and Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) data add context on small-scale and Global South financing.
Contents
- Nonprofit revenue and growth
- The grant, donor, and earned-revenue mix
- Individual giving and funding equity
- Philanthropy and newsroom sustainability
- Global support for investigative work
- Crowdfunding and startup finance
Nonprofit revenue and growth
INN’s fieldwide figures describe nonprofit news outlets broadly, not a separately isolated investigative-journalism census. They are therefore a benchmark for the funding environment in which much investigative reporting is produced. In 2024, the median INN member outlet generated $532,000 in annual revenue, compared with $477,000 in 2023. The same INN report estimated that nearly 400 digital-first nonprofit newsrooms generated a combined $650 million–$700 million in 2024. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
The longer trend was positive for most outlets in the 2021–2024 trend set. INN reported that 79% increased annual revenue by more than 10%. Another 8% stayed within a range of plus or minus 10%, while 9% decreased total revenue by more than 10%. These categories describe change over the period rather than a single-year funding result. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
Scale was strongly associated with the largest absolute gains. All 25 INN outlets with the largest absolute revenue growth had at least $2 million in revenue in 2024. Across those 25 outlets, revenue increased by between $1.6 million and $13 million from 2021 through 2024. Twelve had national or global coverage scopes, and 10 launched between 2017 and 2021. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
The fastest growth by percentage showed a different organizational profile: 19 of INN’s 25 fastest-growing outlets launched between 2017 and 2021. Percentage growth can favor smaller or newer organizations, whereas dollar growth can favor larger outlets. The two measures should not be treated as interchangeable. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
The grant, donor, and earned-revenue mix
INN’s 2024 fieldwide revenue breakdown shows how dependent nonprofit news remains on philanthropy while retaining several other channels.
| Revenue source | Share of fieldwide nonprofit-news revenue, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Foundation grants | 49% |
| Individual giving | 32% |
| Earned revenue from sponsorships, advertising, and events | 18% |
| Other ancillary charitable sources | 1% |
Foundation grants were the largest category at 49%, followed by individual giving at 32%. Earned revenue from sponsorships, advertising, and events represented 18%, while other ancillary charitable sources represented 1%. These are shares of INN fieldwide nonprofit-news revenue for 2024, not a claim that every investigative outlet has the same mix. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
Revenue concentration also varied by outlet. In INN’s 2025 survey covering 2024 finances, 43% of outlets reported using at least four revenue streams. At the other end, 11% reported relying on a single revenue stream. The figures make diversification a measurable feature of the field, although they do not establish that a particular number of streams guarantees financial stability. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
The flexibility of grant money differed as well. Seventy percent of INN outlets reported that at least half of their foundation funding was available for general operating expenses. National and global outlets were just over 20% of INN’s field, but they represented 40% of outlets reporting that no more than a quarter of grants supported general operations. The comparison points to different funding conditions by coverage scope, while preserving the survey’s own denominators. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
Individual giving and funding equity
Individual giving was a large part of the 2024 nonprofit-news revenue picture, but it was concentrated in larger gifts. Major gifts of $5,000 or more made up 64% of individual giving at INN outlets. Small-dollar gifts below $1,000 made up 28%, and mid-level gifts of $1,000–$5,000 made up 8%. Together, these figures describe the distribution of individual giving at INN outlets in 2024. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
The average major-donor gift also increased over the longer period covered by INN’s data, rising from about $26,000 in 2021 to about $33,000 in 2024. This is an average, not a median, and it does not indicate how many major donors each outlet had. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
Earlier INN reporting helps place the 2024 median in context. Median revenue per outlet was about $477,000 in 2023, nearly unchanged from 2022, while median revenue rose from $373,000 in 2021 to $477,000 in 2022. State and regional outlets increased median revenue by 36% from 2021 to 2022. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
The earlier trend set also showed differences in donor performance. Just over half of 125 local outlets increased total revenue from 2022 to 2023. Half of local outlets and half of big-budget INN organizations increased major-donor revenue over the same period. Among outlets primarily serving communities of color, about one-third grew small-dollar-donor revenue, compared with about one-half of other outlets. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
Across INN’s trend-set outlets, total individual giving grew 53%, from more than $31 million in 2018 to more than $48 million in 2021. The median increase in individual giving was $37,000 per outlet over that period. These historical figures should not be read as a direct 2024 estimate. Institute for Nonprofit News, Revenue & Expenses
Philanthropy and newsroom sustainability
The American Journalism Project (AJP) provides a separate view of philanthropic investment and revenue growth. According to the Knight Foundation’s assessment of its investments in local-news sustainability, nine AJP grantees from 2019 averaged a 407.5% revenue increase from 2019 through 2023. Collectively, those nine organizations increased revenue by $18,694,763. The average increase was $2,077,196, and the median increase was $1,978,543. Knight Foundation, Investments in Local News Sustainability
AJP reported raising more than $175 million from national and local partners since its 2019 launch. It invested $55 million in 44 nonprofit news organizations across 33 U.S. states during the period described in the assessment. The investment total and the amount raised are different measures: one describes AJP’s investments, while the other describes funds raised from partners. Knight Foundation, Investments in Local News Sustainability
Growth varied by the years available for analysis. AJP’s 13 organizations with 2020–2023 data increased total revenue by 167.6%. Its 18 organizations with 2021–2023 data increased total revenue by 49.7%. Its 26 organizations with 2022–2023 data increased total revenue by 9.3%. Across 24 AJP grantees, average revenue also increased 9.3% from 2022 to 2023. These are different cohorts and periods, so the percentages should not be combined into a single growth rate. Knight Foundation, Investments in Local News Sustainability
Global support for investigative work
The Pulitzer Center’s 2024 annual report measures funding activity through operating revenue and supported journalism. It reported $10.85 million in operating revenue in 2024. During that year, it supported 203 projects involving 288 journalists in 102 countries, and the supported work resulted in 946 stories. Pulitzer Center, 2024 Annual Report
The same report provides participation measures. More than 50% of Pulitzer Center journalism grant recipients in 2024 self-identified as a race or ethnicity other than white. Nearly 50% self-identified as female or nonbinary. Applications were available in four languages, and the center supported 38 multilingual social-media collaborations with news partners. These measures describe recipients, application access, and collaborations; they are not percentages of the center’s operating revenue. Pulitzer Center, 2024 Annual Report
Report for the World focuses on salary support for local reporting. By June 2025, it supported 72 journalists in 53 newsrooms across 32 countries. Its newsroom partners receive three-year salary funding for beat-focused reporters. In its January 2024 call, the program supported 45 local journalists in 32 newsrooms across 20 countries. The 2024 application model funded half of a reporter’s salary for up to three years. Report for the World, June 2025 program update
Crowdfunding and startup finance
Pew Research Center’s historical analysis shows the scale of Kickstarter journalism funding between April 28, 2009 and September 15, 2015. It identified 658 fully or over-funded journalism projects that raised nearly $6.3 million. Kickstarter journalism funding rose from $49,256 in 2009 to $1,743,668 in the first nine months of 2015. Financial backers increased from 792 in 2009 to 25,651 in 2015. Pew Research Center, Crowdfunded Journalism
The typical project was much smaller than the aggregate total: the median Kickstarter journalism project had 54 backers and raised $3,711. Seventy-one percent of funded projects came from unaffiliated individuals or small groups, while established media organizations produced 22%. By geography, 64% were U.S.-based, 34% were foreign-based, and 2% explicitly combined U.S. and foreign work. These figures cover Kickstarter’s Journalism category and are historical, not current market estimates. Pew Research Center, Crowdfunded Journalism
GIJN’s 2017 survey of 26 Global South investigative-news startups highlights the operating challenge behind startup finance. Eleven of 17 organizations covered expenses with annual income. Nineteen organizations were seeking new funding, including 14 specifically seeking foundations, and 15 of those 19 reported currently receiving foundation money. Seventeen of 19 called financial risk their greatest risk. Only 10 of 22 organizations had staff dedicated to fundraising and grant proposals. Global Investigative Journalism Network, Want To Help Investigative Startups in the Global South?
Taken together, these figures show several distinct funding scales: median nonprofit outlet revenue, fieldwide grant and donor shares, multi-year philanthropic investment, program-supported salaries, project-level grants, and small crowdfunding campaigns. The populations and dates differ, so each statistic is most useful when read with its source, geography, and measurement period intact.