In December 2020, the #newsCOneeds matching challenge helped 24 Colorado newsrooms raise a total of over $578,000 from nearly 5,300 individual donors — nearly half which were first-time contributors — to support their local journalism. The half-million+ dollars were desperately needed, in a year when more people than ever turned to local news for updates on the pandemic, racial justice movement, and contentious election season — at the same time many reporters were furloughed to offset declines in local ad revenue.
In August, Colorado Media Project announced that once again we will offer $5,000 matching grants to selected nonprofit and locally-owned Colorado newsrooms.
In addition, in partnership with the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab), News Revenue Hub and the national NewsMatch campaign, once again our year-end #newsCOneeds campaign will be an ecosystem-wide, public awareness-building opportunity for Colorado newsrooms to join forces to amplify the positive impacts they are making in their communities. Colorado newsrooms selected for the cohort will work with COLab and News Revenue Hub to co-create messaging, graphics, and collateral.
Full details for the #newsCOneeds awareness campaign and matching challenge are here, including eligibility information, participation and reporting requirements, meetings and project timeline, rules for meeting the match, and additional support offered to participants via CMP, COLab, and News Revenue Hub.
While more people tuned into local news last year, the economic fallout from the pandemic has further weakened local newsrooms, especially those most dependent on local advertising. Yet seven in 10 Americans still believe that their local news outlets are doing “very or somewhat well financially,” and only 14% are currently paying for local news, according to a recent Pew Research survey.
Building trust and greater transparency with audiences is often the first step to deeper engagement and sustained membership for local newsrooms. Recent research has shown that most Americans desire a deeper personal connection to their local news, but often don’t feel like they have one. While American skepticism of the media runs deep, local journalists can increase transparency and trust by explaining to readers how their newsroom works, and how editorial and financial decisions are made.
The #newsCOneeds campaign aims to help reverse these trends — and build trust and support for local news. The public awareness and year-end fundraising campaign will launch on Giving Newsday (a.k.a. Giving Tuesday, November 30) and Colorado newsrooms selected to receive a matching grant will have until Dec. 31 to raise at least $5,000 from individual supporters (in gifts of $1,000 or less) to meet the match.
CMP’s 2020 #newsCOneeds matching challenge is made possible through unrestricted support to CMP from Bohemian Foundation, Democracy Fund, and Gates Family Foundation. CMP’s fiscal sponsor, Rose Community Foundation, provides oversight and administration for the funds.
CMP’s year-end matching challenge launched in 2018, when seven Colorado newsrooms participated in a first-ever joint appeal to readers – which raised nearly $50,000 for local news from about 300 people in a single day.
In 2019, 18 local outlets came together to brainstorm ways to leverage 2019 #GivingNewsDay and the year-end giving season, in order to increase individual donations at each outlet – while also amplifying the vital role that community support plays in sustaining high-quality local news in Colorado.
For questions about the 2020 #newsCOneeds awareness campaign or the matching gift challenge, please email CMP Operations Manager Lauren Archuletta.
Foundations and major donors who wish to contribute to the matching fund, please email CMP Director Melissa Davis.
