Deepening Funder Relationships: Lessons from EdNC

Relationships are at the heart of philanthropy, and successful fundraising is so much more than just a transaction. This is especially important as news organizations look to build relationships with local funders and others new to the journalism space.

In this News Philanthropy Network workshop, Nation Hahn and Mebane Rash from EdNC, an organization which covers statewide education issues in North Carolina, explained how they’ve developed an iterative “learn as you go” program to engage funders and other leaders across the state.

This “learn as you go” work happens hand-in-hand with the communities EdNC aims to serve. The organization’s leadership takes members of the philanthropic, business, and policymaker communities around the state to visit with educational leaders and deepen their understanding of the issues facing communities.

In this interactive case-study discussion, the EdNC team shared how they organized the “learn as you go” program, provided insight into the relationships that developed from them, and offered tips to news organizations that want to try similar strategies.