Foundation funding overtakes advertising for local digital newsrooms

Philanthropic support has become the most common revenue source among members of Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers, surpassing direct-sold advertising for the first time since the organization began tracking revenue in 2020.

The data, collected in 2025 from more than 300 local, independent newsrooms across the United States and Canada, shows a 35 percent increase in the number of organizations receiving philanthropic funding. This trend applies to both nonprofit and for-profit outlets.

The shift comes amid growing national and local foundation support for local journalism.

Press Forward, a philanthropic initiative launched in 2023, has distributed more than $400 million to local newsrooms. LION members also received more than $2.5 million in pass-through funding as part of the group’s programming in 2024.

Approximately 80 percent of nonprofit newsrooms and 60 percent of for-profits reported philanthropy as a revenue stream in 2025. This represents a broader change in how funders support local journalism, extending beyond traditional nonprofit models.

Revenue data from LION also shows that audience-supported income sources are increasing. Seventy-seven percent of members reported revenue from small individual donations, making it the second most reported revenue stream. On average, audience-based revenue — including memberships, subscriptions and individual gifts — increased by 19 percent in 2025 across all tax statuses.

Among for-profit newsrooms, direct-sold advertising remained the most common source of revenue. However, 78 percent reported earning revenue from at least one audience-supported source: 57 percent from small donors, and 57 percent from subscriptions or memberships.

Newsroom-hosted events also generated income, with one in three organizations reporting event revenue.

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Staffing patterns show a potential link between revenue strategy and investment. Forty-three percent of LION members reported having a dedicated revenue staff member. Newsrooms with at least one staffer focused on revenue generation earned 38 percent more income than similarly sized outlets without such a role. The median LION newsroom reported six editorial staff and one revenue staff member.