*And that's how we like it to maintain sustainability and editorial independence!*
The bulk of our funding comes from ~129 members who give an average of $14 to Matter monthly, and they make us more fiscally sustainable.
The next biggest chunk of our funding comes from grant dollars from NewsMatch, an organization that fundraises from major news funders and then matches the donations nonprofits newsrooms across the country get each November and December.
note: next year (end of 2021), we hope to have secured a "local match", a company, foundation, or other organization that wants to triple match the funds we receive during NewsMatch, so that we can further incentivize donors.
The bulk of the rest of our funding comes from one-time donations (the average donor - both one-time and monthly - gives $10) and other grants ($2,000 from Comfest and $3,000 from the U.S. Press Freedom Accountability Project).
We have yet to secure large gifts + have yet to sell advertisements, but we are thinking about it.
Note: Ads will be for aligned local businesses and never make up a significant portion of our funding.
We will look more into platforms for getting donations through other foundations, companies, orgs, platforms etc., however, some require we have our own nonprofit status.
i.e. Columbus Foundation The Giving Store / Donor Advised Funds, Combined Charities (Franklin County), etc.
Calendar Year 2020:
REVENUE TOTAL = $39,952
Earned Revenue (use gross revenue figures)
Advertising 0
Sponsorships and underwriting (non-events) 0
Events (including sponsorships, ticket sales) $150 (.3%)
Subscriptions 0
Syndication/commissions 400 (1%)
Other earned revenue (such as fees, investment income) Specify source(s) 0 --
Contributions & Grants
Foundation grants 14195 (36%)
Memberships 10628 (27%)
Individual donations, small (less than $1,000) 14,579 (36%)
Individual donations, mid-range ($1,000-4,999) 0
Individual donations, major ($5,000 or more) 0
Other charitable contributions, specify source(s) 0 --
# of donors
SMALL DONORS: 340 (including 140 members)