New DIY guide gives tools to engaging donors

We were very hands-on, which was successful but staff-intensive for our team. We didn’t have the staff at INN to do this for all our members, so we asked ourselves how we could do this in a scalable way.”

Stephanie Schenkel, network philanthropy director, INN

The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) has released a new guidebook to help newsrooms develop collaborative fundraising campaigns. The Nonprofit Collective Fundraising DIY Guide provides step-by-step instructions, tools and case studies to support nonprofit news organizations in engaging donors.

Stephanie Schenkel, INN’s director of network philanthropy, said her work with a group of California INN members in September 2023 on collaborative fundraising efforts inspired the guidebook. “We were very hands-on, which was successful but staff-intensive for our team. We didn’t have the staff at INN to do this for all our members, so we asked ourselves how we could do this in a scalable way,” Schenkel told E&P. INN now has 475 member newsrooms.

“We wanted to make sure that every newsroom had access to the knowledge and resources they needed to start and sustain collaborative fundraising efforts,” Schenkel said. With that in mind, INN is making the Guide available to members and non-members via its resource library.

What is collective fundraising?

Collective fundraising can serve as a way for newsrooms to work together to raise more philanthropic revenue by extending the reach of their message and impact, sharing resources and combining their strengths. It requires organizations that might have different processes to work together to raise and manage funds through shared systems.

Kerstin Tebbe, founder & CEO, Collective Mind

INN partnered with Collective Mind to develop this Guide. Kerstin Tebbe, founder and CEO of Collective Mind, played a key role in shaping the Guide’s framework, conducting research and collecting case studies to highlight challenges and successes. “Many organizations struggle with collaborative efforts. Sometimes they set unrealistic goals or haven’t done the work to understand each other's expectations,” Tebbe said. “The best way to begin is to start small. Even if the first effort doesn’t achieve what you expected, success lies in the progress and the lessons learned.”

The guidebook simplifies fundraising into actionable steps, helping news organizations navigate joint campaigns. It covers developing a collaborative fundraising plan with clear goals and roles, crafting unified messaging to showcase collective impact, and addressing legal and financial considerations.

Schenkel said a critical part of collaborative fundraising is that the participating newsrooms take the time to flesh out each other's expectations to lay the groundwork for a successful partnership. “What are their motivations or intentions, and what are our goals? And, of course, there’s always the issue around how to parse out or divvy up funding in an equitable way.”

A key section, “Ways of Working,” guides decision-making, resource-sharing and setting realistic expectations. The Guide stresses that successful collaborations require trust, transparency and a shared vision. Practical tools help newsrooms assess their readiness and determine the best operational model.

Schenkel explained that the Guide’s insights extend beyond collaborations between nonprofits. It can also be used for partnerships with for-profit newsrooms or other organizations, like community groups.       

The Guide features six case studies from INN members, showcasing the potential and challenges of collective fundraising. One case highlights The New England News Collaborative, where Schenkel worked before joining INN. This collaborative, which includes 10 public media stations, has built a sustainable business model that supports both content sharing and fundraising. Another looks at a partnership between the MinnPost and Sahan Journal, which tested a one-day fundraising campaign on World Press Freedom Day, raising $12,500 and gaining new subscribers and donors.

As part of the rollout, INN will also offer training sessions and webinars to help newsrooms implement the strategies outlined in the Guide. The first was on March 11, and was open to everyone via INN’s calendar of events.

Diane Sylvester is an award-winning 30-year multimedia news veteran. She works as a reporter, editor, and newsroom strategist. She can be reached at diane.povcreative@gmail.com.