named programs · 2 · from sources
What they call their work
Community News Investment Fund
Proposed financing initiative to provide loans, loan-to-grant conversions, and loan guarantees to support sustainable local news organizations, particularly those serving under-resourced communities.
Research on Local News
Produces data-driven analysis on the decline of local journalism, its consequences for democracy, and policy solutions to address the crisis.
activities · 6 groups
What they do
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Small Business and Nonprofit Lending 1 activity
- Co-creating financial pilot programs for local news outletsCo-created a pilot loan program with URL Media and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition to provide small loans addressing cash flow challenges for local news organizations.
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Nonprofit Sector Research & Data Analysis 1 activity
- Conducting and publishing research on the local news crisisProduces original research documenting the decline of local journalism, including studies on the financial impacts of news deserts, coverage gaps in education and health, municipal borrowing costs, and longitudinal trends in newsroom and journalist losses. Published findings include a 209 million-person exposure to diminished local reporting and an 81% national decline in local journalists.
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Policy Advocacy & Research 1 activity
- Developing and distributing policy toolkits and implementation guidanceCreates and shares policy toolkits, model legislation, action bulletins, and implementation guidance to help policymakers, foundations, and news organizations design and launch programs such as government advertising set-asides, tax credits, and grant programs that support local news sustainability.
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Professional Field Knowledge Development 1 activity
- Facilitating collaborative policy development processesFacilitates multi-stakeholder collaborations involving academics, media practitioners, and government workers to develop model laws, policy frameworks, and toolkits for supporting local news sustainability.
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Organizational Governance & Leadership Development 1 activity
- Providing corporate governance and coalition oversightProvides organizational leadership and governance for Rebuild Local News and oversees the operations of the Rebuild Local News Coalition.
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Uncategorized 3 activities
- Advocating for public policies to revitalize local newsAdvances federal, state, and local legislation to counter the collapse of local news, including tax credits for small business advertising in local outlets and payroll tax credits for news organizations to hire or retain journalists. Submits advocacy letters to state broadband and digital equity authorities and promotes model bills for legislative adoption.
- Building research infrastructure for local news recoveryCo-developed the Local News Research Hub with Syracuse University to centralize interdisciplinary research on the local news crisis and support evidence-based recovery strategies.
- Convening and representing a national coalition for local news sustainabilityConvenes and represents a coalition of over 55 organizations that collectively represent more than 3,000 locally-owned and nonprofit newsrooms and 15,000 journalists to advance policy solutions and safeguard the future of local journalism.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$2.01M
Contributions & grants$1.96M98%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$42K2%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$1.38M
Program expenses65%
Admin / overhead30%
Fundraising6%
Salaries & benefits$693K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$2.63M
Cash$1.87M
Investments$0
Liabilities$40K
Net assets$2.59M
Liquid reserves16.3 mo
2 years on record · 2023–2024 · YoY revenue -22.2%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 2
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEVEN WALDMAN | PRESIDENT | 40 | $260K |
| ANNA BRUGMANN | SECRETARY | 2 | $93K |
board members · 6
- GRACIELA MOCHKOFSKY — BOARD MEMBER
- JIM FREIDLICH — BOARD MEMBER
- JULIE SANDORF — BOARD MEMBER
- KANG-XING JIN — BOARD MEMBER
- LENNY MENDONCA — BOARD MEMBER
- PAULETTE BROWN-HINDS — CHAIR
relationships · 81
Who they work with
- AAN Coalition — Coalition member representing alternative newsweeklies engaged in public policy advocacy for local news.
- AAN Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Afro-American Newspapers Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Alameda Post Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Alaska News Coalition Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- American Journalism Project Coalition — Coalition member representing nonprofit news organizations engaged in public policy advocacy for local news.
- American Journalism Project Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Arizona Media Association Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Black Voice News Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Brookings Institution Partner — Cites Brookings research on the impact of newspaper closures on public finance and government performance.
- Center for Cooperative Media Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Chalkbeat Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Colorado Press Association Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Duke University Partner — Collaborates on research related to local journalism and civic information needs.
- Greensboro Latino Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Institute for Nonprofit News Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Institute for Rural Journalism Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Kansas Press Association Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Key Biscayne Independent Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- LION Publishers Coalition — Coalition member representing local independent online news publishers engaged in public policy advocacy for local news.
- LION Publishers Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Local Media Consortium Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Maine Press Association Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Media and Democracy Project Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Mid-Atlantic Community Papers Association Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Military Veterans in Journalism Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- Minneapolis Fed Partner — References Minneapolis Fed working papers on the relationship between newspaper presence and voter participation.
- Mississippi Press Association Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
- My Neighborhood News Group Coalition — Member organization in the Rebuild Local News coalition advancing public policy for local news.
+ 51 more
strategies · 3
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Civic Information Ecology Frameworkmethodology: civic-information-ecologyBy treating local journalism as essential infrastructure for civic engagement and community connection, the organization addresses news deserts not just as market failures but as threats to democratic participation and social cohesion, because informed communities experience greater civic involvement and reduced isolation.
- Coalition-Based Policy Advocacy for Systemic Changemethodology: coalition-based_advocacyBy uniting locally-owned and nonprofit newsrooms, journalists, and industry organizations into a coordinated coalition, the organization amplifies advocacy impact to achieve structural policy reforms, because collective action increases political leverage and legitimacy in shaping media policy.
- Inclusive and Sustainable Policy Design with Editorial Independencemethodology: inclusive-sustainable-policy-designBy advancing content-neutral, platform-neutral, and future-friendly public policies that support diverse business models — such as tax credits, government advertising set-asides, and intermediate financing — the organization fosters sustainable local news ecosystems, because these mechanisms increase revenue resilience without compromising journalistic independence or creating partisan dependencies.