Case Study

What The Two River Times learned in its first year as a nonprofit: ‘The community feels that it’s theirs’

By Lia McClary

March 26, 2026

In 2024, The Two River Times, a weekly newspaper in Monmouth County, NJ, made a fundamental change to its business model: It decided to become a nonprofit.  

Chairman Domenic DiPiero owned the paper for a decade, and he and his team spent years looking for the right approach to ensure that the paper was sustainable for the long-term. They decided that becoming a nonprofit was the right approach to change expectations about the outlet and, as DiPiero said, helps “the community feels that it’s theirs.”  

Transitioning from for-profit to nonprofit takes years of planning — retracing the steps other organizations have taken, discussing reorganization with attorneys and banks, researching state and federal budgets to find new funding sources, and much more. The work to make this transition possible began in early 2021, and parts of it will likely continue. Here are a few lessons from the Times’ first year as a nonprofit as it connected with its community and explored new revenue opportunities. This effort was, in part, supported by a grant from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism:  

By becoming a nonprofit, The Two River Times transformed its relationship with its community from one that was once transactional and instead to one rooted in public service.  

“I want this paper to be here 200 years from now,” DiPiero said in 2024 when he first announced the change. A growing number of publications, including The Salt Lake Tribune, The Colorado Sun, and Berkeleyside have moved from for-profit to nonprofit status. Nonprofit news organizations still need to operate like businesses and need revenue strategies, but by embracing nonprofit tax status they can access new opportunities and position themselves as community institutions, which can be a lifeline for smaller publishers.  

It’s a nonprofit. Now what?  

In September 2024, DiPiero donated the paper to a newly created nonprofit. The move was announced in May 2024 with an article about the newspaper’s history and hopes for its future, but the actual implementation didn’t happen right away. Once the new business structure was established, the Times needed to let its community know how it could participate and educate it about the new tax status. 

Most readers don’t know why transitioning to nonprofit status is meaningful. Many are likely not aware of the business challenges facing local news, and news organizations must make the case to their communities about why they need their support. 

At the same time: readers are not a monolith. The stories that are meaningful to people, the expectations they have about news accessibility, and their preferences about format are all varied and personal. 

To tackle this challenge, the Times teamed up with News Revenue Hub to put together a survey for both readers and non-readers in their area. More than 600 people responded, and the Times garnered relevant information about who is engaging with their local news.  

Survey template from The Two River Times Survey template from The Two River Times

Among the key takeaways for the Times: Its audience is less diverse than its coverage area, meaning deeper community outreach is needed. But among its existing readers, the willingness to promote the Times’ coverage was strong.  

Turning audience research into a membership strategy 

Previously, a print subscription to the Times was $30 for one year or $45 for two years. The newly minted nonprofit, however, was now using its survey results to inform its new membership tiers. 

Survey feedback, for instance, revealed that the Times’ printed product was an effective motivator to donate, prompting the Times to include free print delivery as a benefit for annual donations over $100. Donors can also opt out of this option. Benefits for the other tiers include a members-only newsletter and invitations to exclusive events. 

the Times also used the questions they received through the survey to build its FAQ page. The page explains what membership supports, the benefits of membership, and even highlights the difference between a subscription and a membership: “A membership is a way to invest in local journalism and the community it serves.”  

In tandem with this work, the Times also launched a three-part editorial article series educating readers on its transition as a nonprofit newsroom. In the first piece, the Times announced the hiring of its first Executive Director, Gabriel Donio. This move cemented the organization’s new status and signaled to readers its commitment to accountability and transparency.  

During this time, it also switched from Constant Contact for email campaigns to Mailchimp. The change was motivated by a desire for increased automation and better segmentation of its reader base within the platform, which allowed it to launch tailored messaging campaigns to members and non-members. Mailchimp was also compatible with other platforms the Times was using, like Salesforce, creating a more seamless database to manage its membership program.

Results 

By October 2025, the Times had 3,727 members, a slight increase from the previous year, and a 20% increase in newsletter subscribers. The outlet’s end-of-year campaign also brought in $15,478, surpassing its goal of $10,000. 

So far, this year, the Times has also been using mailed renewals to convert over 300 readers — many of whom had previously been paying $30 or $45 — at the $100 membership tier.   

What we’d do differently: prioritize call to actions  

While the team is pleased with the organization’s progress over its first year, the Times does see room for improvement in its processes. Since the backend side of the member / donor pipeline has worked as planned, the Times is now planning to focus more on how to bring new readers into the funnel through clear calls to action.  

One area where calls to action have performed well is the Times’ newsletter. Instead of providing direct links to stories, the newsletter features article teasers alongside a button directing readers to “Become a Member Today.” The Times reports that this tactic has converted at least 80 newsletter subscribers into paying members. Notably, the Times shared that a majority of these newsletter readers had first entered the pipeline through a call-to-action on the Times’ website.  

Thinking about transforming your newsroom? 

If you’re planning a transition from for-profit to nonprofit, or just want to ensure your readership is educated on your nonprofit status, here are some best practices to keep in mind: 

• Check out the Institute for Nonprofit News’ Quick Guide to Converting a For-profit to Nonprofit News Outlet and “Elements of Nonprofit News Management” by Richard Tofel, former president of ProPublica, and published by The Lenfest Institute.  

• Survey your audience to understand who they are and what is important to them. The most beautifully crafted message is useless if it falls on deaf ears. For more on this, check out tips from the Knight Communities Network or Press Forward’s messaging toolkit. 

• Curate a tech stack that works for the current needs of your organization. Don’t be afraid to leave a tool behind if you find a better one and the transition is feasible.  

• Explore your options with vendors. There are discounts available to nonprofits for many services—like Salesforce, Trello, and Slack—that may cut your cost or even take it down to zero. 

• Educate your advertisers about how a shift to nonprofit will impact them to ensure compliance and awareness.  

• Reach out to other organizations who have gone (or are going) through similar changes. Many of them are part of the Lenfest News Philanthropy Network, which offers free resources and hosts convenings for news fundraisers. The community of people and newsrooms on this journey is growing – be a part of it!  

Organization Overview: 

Organization: The Two River Times 

Owner: The Two River Times Foundation, a 501(c)(3) Noprofit Charity 

Target audience: Red Bank, NJ and towns on or near the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers in Monmouth County, NJ 

Newsletter subscribers: 15,797 newsletter subscribers 

Print subscribers: 3,700 print subscribers, 5,800 total print circulation 

Print status: Both print and digital frequency is once a week. The digital edition includes 30% of print content and is posted on a two-day delay