Oct. 27–Nov. 23, 2025.
$0.00
Launching nonprofit newsrooms: Practical strategies for funding and growth
How can journalists launch sustainable newsrooms that serve their communities and thrive financially?
Learn practical strategies in the free online course Launching Nonprofit Newsrooms: Practical Strategies for Funding and Growth, organized by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, running Oct. 27–Nov. 23, 2025.
In this four-week course, instructors Brant Houston and Sue Cross will guide you through funding options, revenue strategies, community engagement, and the steps to move from journalist to newsroom leader.
By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:
- Gauge community news needs and plan a newsroom launch
- Build strong foundations for fundraising and revenue generation
- Explore philanthropic and earned revenue pathways
- Manage yourself and your newsroom in a changing media environment
This course is designed for journalists launching or running newsrooms, and for civic or business leaders exploring nonprofit news models.
Join for FREE and learn how to create a newsroom that engages your community, secures funding, and grows sustainably.
This course is asynchronous, so there are no required live events. You can complete activities at your own pace throughout the week.
The course is organized into five modules, combining videos, readings, and discussion forums:
- Introduction Module
The introduction module focuses on self-exploration, helping you gain insight into what it is like to launch and run a startup. Some materials are specific to news startups, while others highlight social enterprises more broadly. Participants are invited to complete a short survey to share where they are in their startup journey, which helps tailor forum interactions and resources to your needs.
- Module 1: Pre-launch basics – Building a strong base for your fundraising
This module covers the essentials for launching a sustainable news startup, including what it means to be a nonprofit newsroom, five key steps to take before launching, initial publishing and broadcasting options, and the seven most common revenue streams for public service journalism.
Guest speaker: Mukhtar Ibrahim, founding publisher and CEO of Sahan Journal, St. Paul, Minnesota and also founder of the newsletter, the Muslim Brief.
- Module 2: Major philanthropic funding sources for nonprofit news
This module explores the main philanthropic funding routes, from foundation grants to individual and corporate donors. You’ll learn how to identify and cultivate these sources, understand trends in philanthropy, and develop strategies to secure sustainable support for your newsroom.
Guest speaker: Bridget Gallagher, Principal of the Gallagher Group and fundraiser, entrepreneur, and champion for mission-driven media
- Module 3: Earned revenue to build along with your business
This module focuses on generating ongoing earned revenue through subscriptions, memberships, small donations, sponsorships, events, and other ventures. You’ll also learn how to plan for growth, manage expenses, and ensure your revenue supports your newsroom sustainably.
Guest speaker: Christiaan Mader, Founder/Editor, The Current in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
- Module 4: Beyond money: Other factors that fuel the funding and growth of your news startup
This module explores non-financial factors that strengthen your newsroom, including adapting content for multiple formats, reaching and engaging audiences, differentiating your coverage, building supportive networks, and fostering innovation to maximize impact. You’ll learn strategies to expand your reach, increase community support, and create a newsroom that thrives beyond funding alone.
Guest speaker: Shamus Toomey, publisher and co-founder, Block Club Chicago, USA
Register now for free and gain immediate access to the introduction module materials.
Questions? Contact us at journalismcourses@austin.utexas.edu.
Brant Houston is an investigative journalist who has worked on editorial and business strategies with dozens of nonprofit newsrooms and has co-founded two major networks of those newsrooms.
He entered the nonprofit world when he became the executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), a journalism association now with more than 5,000 members.
He served in that role for more than a decade until he became the Knight Chair in Investigative Reporting at the University of Illinois in 2007, where he also oversees the online newsroom at Illinois, CU-CitizenAccess.org, which does watchdog and community reporting and is a lab for digital innovation and data journalism.
While at IRE he raised millions of dollars for conferences, operations and an endowment fund. In 2003, he co-founded the Global Investigative Journalism Network, which now has 250 nonprofit newsrooms in 90 countries as members, and still serves as the chair of its board of directors. In 2009, he co-founded the Institute for Nonprofit News and served as its first board chair.
Houston is the author of five editions of the textbook, Computer-Assisted Reporting: A Practical Guide, and co-author of the fourth, fifth and sixth editions of The Investigative Reporter’s Handbook.
He recently wrote Changing Models for Journalism: Reinventing the Newsroom, which incorporated much of his 30 years’ experience in the nonprofit world of journalism. He has taught and spoken about investigative and computer-assisted reporting at newsrooms and universities in more than 30 countries.
He currently serves on the boards of the nonprofit newsrooms Block Club Chicago, Investigate Midwest, Investigate West, and The Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism.
Sue Cross is a media development adviser and journalist specializing in the reinvention of news.
From 2015 to 2024, Cross spearheaded development of the U.S. nonprofit news sector as CEO and executive director of the Institute for Nonprofit News. Under her leadership, the INN Network grew to more than 450 news organizations fielding more than 4,000 journalists, and funneling more than $13 million a year in strategic philanthropy and investment to newsrooms serving thousands of communities.
Today she advises journalists, civic and community leaders, social entrepreneurs and philanthropists on how to reinvent and support news as a public service, through startups and new approaches, and helps news entrepreneurs develop revenue to support a public mission and strong, independent news coverage.
Cross previously worked for the Associated Press. As senior vice president, she ran the global
news agency’s business throughout the Americas, following a career as reporter, editor and digital product and business executive.
Cross serves on boards including Stanford University’s John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships, the State Court Report at the Brennan Center for Justice and Block Club Chicago.
She is based in Los Angeles, California, USA.
During this course, you’ll use a few practical tools and resources to help plan, organize, and analyze your newsroom startup:
- Basic knowledge of Excel, Google Sheets, or other spreadsheet software. Spreadsheet skills are not needed for the class, but you’ll need them to apply some of the suggested tools for basic budgeting and financial planning.
- A version of the lean business canvas or similar frameworks, which are widely available on the open web.
- A community information needs survey. We will provide links to some examples, or you may create surveys on your own.
Instructors
Brant Houston
Sue Cross
Recommended for you
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas
300 West Dean Keeton
Room 3.212
Austin, TX, 78712
Phone: 512-471-1391
Email: journalismcourses@austin.utexas.edu
