Guide

Fundraising in support of investigative journalism: Explain how you work, not just why

How a fundraising toolkit from Muckrock / Sunlight Research Desk helped newsrooms improve communication — and fundraising — around their investigative work

By Brandi Swicegood and Chelsea Verrette

May 13, 2026

Working with 13 newsrooms from September 2025 to January 2026, we conducted a study to examine local newsrooms’ communication, specifically highlighting the value of high-impact reporting, with attention to audience trust and fundraising outcomes. The report combined surveys to assess communication practices, a responsive toolkit to support messaging that raised awareness of in-depth reporting costs and impacts, and reported fundraising results.

In early conversations and an initial survey, local newsrooms shared their efforts to communicate investigative work to their audiences. While deeply committed to high-impact reporting, many described how hard it can be to make the full scope of that work visible.

Participants consistently reported that their audiences don’t understand the enormous time, effort and cost that deep reporting requires. And they said they face real challenges in explaining those factors to their audiences. As one newsroom participant put it, “Most people don’t understand what it takes to produce quality journalism.” 

For some, the challenge wasn’t just explanation but translation, finding ways to connect “the time- and resource-intensive nature of the work” to audience relevance. 

Fundraising introduced another layer of complexity. Many described a careful balancing act between asking for support and maintaining their editorial mission. One respondent explained, “Our reporting isn’t the basis for our fundraising, per se. We emphasize our value proposition as a trusted community resource.”

Because of these challenges, newsrooms often fall back on broad fundraising appeals, even when they want to be more explicit about the value of investigative work.  

“The behind-the-curtain, what-it-took-to-report-this-story type of content is probably only about 15% to 20% of our overall communication strategy,” one newsroom participant said.

Turning ideas into practice

Based on what newsrooms shared, the Sunlight Research Deck developed a fundraising toolkit to support clearer communication about investigative work. The toolkit included adaptable language, examples, and prompts designed to help newsrooms explain how investigative reporting is done and why it matters, particularly when asking for audience support. Materials included audience segmentation guidance, modular calls-to-action for fundraising messages, and a four-email campaign sequence modeling how to explain reporting processes, costs, and impact.

Access the toolkit Access the toolkit

Newsrooms engaged with the toolkit in practical, selective ways. Many reported borrowing individual phrases, reshaping examples or integrating specific elements into existing newsletters, emails or donation pages. Instead of using the toolkit as a script, newsrooms used it as a reference point they could adapt to fit their own voice, audience, and capacity.

Many of the newsrooms reported clearer language and greater confidence in connection with their use of the toolkit. Some of the newsroom participants said the toolkit helped them feel better equipped to explain their work and ask for support in ways that aligned with their editorial values and existing practices. As one newsroom reflected, the process “remind[ed] us that the in-depth investigative work we do is worth documenting for our readers so they understand the real cost of journalism.”

Making investigative work visible

Fundraising results varied across participating newsrooms and were shaped by a range of contextual factors. Seven of the 13 newsrooms that participated in the initial survey completed the final survey. 

Each of the newsrooms operates under different circumstances, including differences in size, timing, campaign approach, and outside factors, and these findings reflect what participating newsrooms shared about their experiences and outcomes.

These are the key data points they reported: 

• 0 newsrooms reported declines in total dollars raised, number of donations, or overall campaign effectiveness
• 2 reported more total dollars raised
• 3 reported more donations
• 4 reported more effective campaigns compared to previous campaigns
• 1 reported doubling its email open and click rates
• 1 reported raising 180% of their fundraising goal

Participants also described outcomes that went beyond dollars raised. Newsrooms said that clearer explanations of the investigative process helped communicate the value and labor of investigative work more effectively. Some reported greater clarity in how they described reporting processes, while others said the campaign helped them to feel more comfortable asking for support for their editorial priorities. One newsroom participant said the language helped readers understand “the real cost of journalism.” 

The investigative reporting process requires verification, transparency, accountability, and care. When fundraising communication makes that process visible, it helps audiences understand what their support enables and why it matters.

Fundraising communication can do more than raise money. It also shapes how a newsroom’s audience understands their journalism. 

What this means in practice: Three takeaways for newsrooms

Based on what participating newsrooms shared, several practical themes emerged:

• Make process visible, not just impact: Explaining how investigations are done, records requests, verification, legal review, can help newsrooms to show audiences how their support connects directly to journalism labor.
• Use flexible language that fits your voice: Newsrooms were most likely to use toolkit elements when the language could be adapted rather than adopted wholesale. 
• Clarity is key: Development teams often need a starting point: clearer communication from editorial staff about the time, labor and resources required for high-impact reporting. That clarity helps translate investigative work into audience-facing messages that show people how they can support reporting that matters.

Read the full report on how to fundraise for investigative journalism Read the full report on how to fundraise for investigative journalism

MuckRock Foundation is a nonprofit, collaborative news site that brings together journalists, researchers and the public to request, analyze and share government information, making politics more transparent and democracy more informed. The Sunlight Research Desk, a project of MuckRock, is a team of researchers and journalists that equips newsrooms to provide their communities fact-based, transparent investigative journalism that holds power to account. The Lenfest Institute for Journalism provided financial and consulting support for this report.