Institute for Nonprofit News
The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) is a public charity based in Beverly Hills, California. It supports a network of 500 independent news organizations through education and business support, and works to promote public-service and investigative journalism.
Institute for Nonprofit News at a glance
In short: Institute for Nonprofit News gave $2.7M across 107 grants in 2025 (avg $26K), top state California. 58% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $2,749,213
- -71.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 107
- -67.5% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $25,694
- -11.9% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $7,560,225
- -13.1% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 58% first-time grantees (62 of 106, 2025)
- Primary geography
- California (25% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated November 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Institute for Nonprofit News
- Review Cycle
- September 10, 2026.
- Deadline
- September 10, 2026.
- Contact
Mailing address: 8549 Wilshire Blvd 2294, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Phone: (213) 709-7126
Website: https://inn.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Institute for Nonprofit News funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Pass Blue ($301K). Together the top 10 received $1.5M.
Grant Size Distribution
578 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 525 grants of 578 (91%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The INNY awards have a United States geographic scope. The 2022 grant recipients listed above were based in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 107 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Institute for Nonprofit News open to new grantees?
58%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 62 of 106 grantees (58%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $14K; repeat grants $43K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $12K repeat.
- 42% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+6%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $2.4M (2020) to $9.6M (2024). In 2025 it made 107 grants totaling $2.7M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Pass Blue Brooklyn, NY | Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor | $300,722 |
| Public Road Productions LLC Skokie, IL | Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor | $268,063 |
| The Kansas City Defender Kansas City, MO | Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor | $157,759 |
| Shasta Scout Redding, CA | Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor | $141,949 |
| The Overlook Woodstock, NY | Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor | $128,708 |
| Re Public Lands Media Albuquerque, NM | Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor | $113,522 |
| Gigafact Redwood City, CA | Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor | $95,274 |
| The Objective Ames, IA | Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor | $87,085 |
| Homefront Portland, OR | Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor | $79,648 |
| Dial Magazine Inc New York, NY | Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor | $75,213 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $7,560,225 | $9,880,054 | $9,406,422 | $2,749,213 | 107 | $157,519 |
| 2024 | $8,704,403 | $15,594,880 | $15,663,213 | $9,593,991 | 329 | $182,570 |
| 2023 | $7,522,880 | $8,569,299 | $10,079,196 | $4,553,443 | 55 | $136,266 |
| 2022 | $8,590,184 | $8,202,036 | $6,442,637 | $2,598,202 | 34 | $35,789 |
| 2021 | $6,852,788 | $6,971,216 | $6,014,963 | $2,742,791 | 53 | $277 |
| 2020 | $6,047,762 | $7,744,775 | $5,445,340 | $2,405,451 | 70 | $-910 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
INN’s stated mission is to foster and promote the highest quality investigative and public-service journalism. Its programs provide resources and training and help distribute investigative news content. The organization identifies priorities including strengthening philanthropic support for journalism, centering diversity, equity and inclusion, supporting experimentation in nonprofit news models, and investing in talent.
Examples of organizations that received grants from INN in 2022 include the Foundation for an individual recipient, whose stated mission is to promote informed citizenship in Greater Los Angeles through civic-minded, factually rigorous journalism; Honolulu Civil Beat, which says it cultivates an informed body of citizens through investigative, watchdog, and other reporting; and New Mexico In Depth, which says its journalism aims to be a catalyst for change. Other 2022 recipients included the Texas Tribune, Coda Media, Next City, the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, and Bay City News Foundation.
Grantmaking
INN’s 2022 filing reported $2,598,202 in grants across 34 grants. Examples include $278,515 to the Foundation for an individual recipient, $19,500 to Honolulu Civil Beat, and $15,502 to New Mexico In Depth. The Texas Tribune, Coda Media, Next City, the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, and Bay City News Foundation each received $8,000. Its 2025 filing, the latest on this page, reports 107 grants totaling $2.7 million.
Separately, INN reported that 425 independent news organizations received a total of $14,114,004 in direct support during 2024 through NewsMatch, the Google News Initiative partnership, and other sources. The reported median direct support per member was $35,000. This figure describes program support to newsrooms, not the number or total of grants reported on INN’s filing.
INN’s Nonprofit News Awards (INNYs) honor journalism, leadership, and community service. They are open to full or provisional INN member organizations in good standing; eligible work must fall within the contest’s stated publication period, with certain series and freelancer work also eligible.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Officers and directors listed on the 2024 filing include Karen Rundlet, CEO; Courtney Lewis, Growth Officer; Charles Potts Jr., Director of Finance; Johnathan Kealing, Network Officer; Lisa M Gardner-Springer, Chief Development Officer; Soraya Membreno, COO; Stephanie Schenkel, Network Philanthropy Director; Sharene Azimi, Director of Communications; Emily Roseman, INN Index Director; and Marcia Parker, Chairman.
Institute for Nonprofit News is led by Karen Rundlet, CEO on every filing since 2024; 8 of 20 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Karen Rundlet
CEO
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$215K (2024) → $223K (2025)
Marcia Parker
Chairman
Secretary → Chair, 2021
Chair → Chairman, 2023
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Charles Potts Jr.
Director of Finance
Director of Finance & Oper → Director of Finance, 2022
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$133K (2020) → $165K (2025)
Sharene Azimi
Director of Communications
Director of Communications → Communications Dirctor, 2023
Communications Dirctor → Director of Communications, 2024
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$139K (2021) → $159K (2025)
Stephanie Schenkel
Network Philanthropy Director
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$136K (2023) → $146K (2025)
Hsiu Mei Wong
Director
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Mark Horvit
Director
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Kyra Kyles
Director
On filings since 2021
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Kinsey Wilson
Director
On filings since 2022
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Valeria Fernandez
Director
On filings since 2022
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Carla Minet
Director
On filings since 2024
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
John Adams
Director
On filings since 2024
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Corinne Colbert
Director
New on the 2025 filing
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Graciela Mochkofsky
Director
New on the 2025 filing
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jonathan R. Kealing
Chief Network Officer
Chief Development Officer → Network Officer, 2024
Network Officer → Chief Network Officer, 2025
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$140K (2020) → $171K (2025)
Lisa M. Gardner-Springer
Chief Development Officer
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$165K (2022) → $174K (2025)
Soraya Membreno
COO
Cheif Operating Officer → COO, 2023
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$102K (2022) → $165K (2025)
Courtney Lewis
Chief of Growth Programs
Chief of Growth Programs → Growth Officer, 2024
Growth Officer → Chief of Growth Programs, 2025
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$165K (2023) → $177K (2025)
Bruce Theriault
Treasurer
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Lucas Grindley
Secretary
Director → Secretary, 2025
On filings since 2022
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (20)
- Former: Ron Smith (2020–2024) — Secretary
- Former: Emily Roseman (2021–2024) — Inn Index Director
- Former: Graciela Mochkosfky (2024) — Director
- Former: Erika Dilday (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Ron Nixon (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Sheila Krumholz (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Sue Cross (2020–2023) — CEO
- Former: Courtney Hurtt (2021–2022) — Cheif Growth Officer
- Former: Bridget K. Thoreson (2022) — Director of Collaboration
- Former: Meta E. Stange (2022) — New Match Program Manager
- Former: Sara Shahriari (2022) — Director of Leadership & Talent Development
- Former: Jeffrey Woolverton (2020–2021) — Network Philantrapy Director
- Former: Lawrence R. Horne (2020–2021) — Director of Development
- Former: Norberto Santana (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Kelsey Ryan (2021) — Director
- Former: Michelle Morgante (2021) — Member Network Director
- Former: Frances R. Scarlett (2020) — Director of Knowledge Officer
- Former: Kayleen M. Lima (2020) — Director of Technology
- Former: Laura Frank (2020) — Chair
- Former: Neal Shapiro (2020) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $223K, to Karen Rundlet (CEO). 8 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Institute for Nonprofit News
How much does Institute for Nonprofit News give each year?
Institute for Nonprofit News gave $2.7M across 107 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $9.6M across 329 grants.
What is Institute for Nonprofit News's typical grant size?
Institute for Nonprofit News's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $25,694, across 107 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Institute for Nonprofit News that year got $14K on average.
Where does Institute for Nonprofit News give grants?
Institute for Nonprofit News's top state is California, with 25% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were New York (22%) and Illinois (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Los Angeles, CA (11 grants), New York, NY (6 grants), Brooklyn, NY (3 grants) and Washington, DC (3 grants).
Does Institute for Nonprofit News give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 107 grants with a stated purpose on Institute for Nonprofit News's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Inn Support - Labs" (23 grants), "Organization Is a Fiscal Sponsor" (19 grants) and "Inn Support - CA Natural Disas. FD" (18 grants).
Who are Institute for Nonprofit News's largest grantees?
Institute for Nonprofit News's largest 2025 grantees include Pass Blue ($300,722), Public Road Productions LLC ($280,423 across 2 grants) and The Kansas City Defender ($157,759), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 27% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Institute for Nonprofit News?
Institute for Nonprofit News reported $7.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $9.9M.
What does Institute for Nonprofit News fund?
INN’s stated mission is to foster and promote the highest quality investigative and public-service journalism. Its programs provide resources and training and help distribute investigative news content. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Institute for Nonprofit News?
Institute for Nonprofit News has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check inn.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Institute for Nonprofit News's EIN?
Institute for Nonprofit News's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 27-2614911. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated November 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS September 10, 2026)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 4, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 9, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS October 10, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS January 26, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Institute for Nonprofit News funds
Education Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Institute for Nonprofit News's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Institute for Nonprofit News funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved November 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/institute-for-nonprofit-news-morg_e633352b8d704953967593d01ad54414
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_272614911_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Institute for Nonprofit News funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/institute-for-nonprofit-news-morg_e633352b8d704953967593d01ad54414},
note = {Accessed 2026-11-13. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Institute for Nonprofit News's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
Institute for Nonprofit News down — hundreds of funders to go?