Fundraising for local journalism is not an easy feat. It takes grit, determination, and an ability to tell your newsroom’s story of impact in your community.

Those involved in this work know it’s a constant learning process, and one of the best ways to learn is from those who have been successful. At LMA Fest 2025 in Chicago, attendees heard from three local news leaders who have had big wins in the philanthropic fundraising space. During a panel hosted by John Celestand, Director of Funding Services for the Knight x LMA BloomLab, these leaders shared challenges, stories of triumph and lessons they have learned as they have led their newsrooms towards philanthropic success.

John Celestand leads a panel with Maritza L. Félix, Dana Peck and Jane Wooldridge at LMA Fest in Chicago on August 19, 2025. Photo by Nina Joss.

Maritza L. Félix is the founder and director of Conecta Arizona, a Spanish-language news service that connects people in Arizona and Sonora primarily through WhatsApp and social media. In less than five years, she said her organization went from being $3,000 in debt to having more than a million dollars in funding.

Dana Peck is the Digital Solutions Director at The AFRO-American Newspapers, the oldest Black business in Maryland. She joined The AFRO in 2018 and worked for the paper as a volunteer for two years before entering a position funded through philanthropy and subscription revenues. Her organization is funded by institutional and corporate donors, as well as individual revenues from subscriptions, events and campaigns.

Jane Wooldridge spent most of her career as an editor and reporter at the Miami Herald. Four years ago, she transitioned from daily journalism to the McClatchy news funding division, where she is responsible for fundraising and donor relations in Florida. The Miami Herald has been seeking philanthropic funding for about five years and currently has six positions funded through philanthropy.

All three organizations represented on the panel have completed the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding, and Peck is part of the Knight x LMA BloomLab.

Here are three lessons on fundraising success from these leaders.

Demonstrate your newsroom’s impact

To kick off the panel, Celestand asked the panelists how to make a strong case for journalism to be funded through philanthropy or community support.

“I think the key is impact,” Wooldridge said. “Being able to say, ‘this is the impact that our work produces every day.’”

When journalists hear the word “impact,” Wooldridge said they often think of reporting that leads to getting laws changed or putting someone in jail – but she encouraged the audience to think of other forms of impact as well.

For example, Peck said, The AFRO makes a personal impact on people’s lives through its archives. These archives, maintained through a partnership with Afro Charities, allow people to read about historic family events, like marriages and promotions. She said the archives have caused visitors to tear up with emotion at having access to these kinds of stories about their ancestors.

“Almost every day, we receive emails from someone saying, ‘my grandmother was involved in this, or my grandfather saved someone’s life – there was a story,’” Peck explained. “And guess what? The AFRO told the story because no one else will. That’s the kind of impact that we’re making in people’s daily lives that we want to continue to do.”

Félix shared several examples of how her organization’s reporting created impact, including helping get a Peruvian consulate established in Arizona.

“Having a consulate, getting people out to vote, getting people to get vaccinated during COVID, (helping people) not get arrested at the border – that could be a huge sign of impact,” she said. “At the end, one of our values as well is to strengthen democracy in Arizona. And I think those very small steps are very, very powerful.”

Stay organized and prepare a plan

Successful fundraising work also requires organization and a strong plan.

“My biggest mistake or hardest lesson learned, I think, was not being organized and just being in a position of being reactive and not proactive,” Peck said. “Just trying to throw everything out there at once and not having a plan, I think, could lead to your downfall.”

To stay organized, Peck’s team keeps a template of deadlines and common questions a funder might ask. This helps them to have information ready to go when they apply for grant opportunities, and allows them to keep track of their timelines while managing other responsibilities in the newsroom.

Wooldridge took time to prepare talking points for conversations with funders. Like many journalists, she said she was not originally comfortable asking for money. After missing a big opportunity to make a fundraising ask, she created a plan.

“I spent some time developing different ways to talk about this that are not painful for me,” she said. “I grew up in a world where you never told anybody what you made. You never told anybody if you couldn’t meet the ends at home – (money) was not a thing one talked about. So, developing … a series of talking points that I could talk about and not cringe (was) important for me.”

Seek funders who share your values

As the funding landscape changes, with some funders leaning away from projects related to diversity, equity and inclusion, Félix said another important aspect of fundraising success is finding funders that align with your organization’s values.

As a Brown, Spanish-speaking immigrant, she said she has met funders who support and understand the communities she is serving – and others who clearly do not share the same values.

“We need to look for funders who are going to help us to create safe spaces to keep growing,” she said. “In this year, if those funders … are shying away – are those the funders that you want to have in the future? Just think about it. There are many out there.”

Peck said much of fundraising is about inviting people into your organization’s vision and story.

“We’re not just asking for money,” she said. “We’re inviting people into the 133-year-old story that we’ve created, the lives that we change, that we continue to change.”

Editor’s note: Artificial intelligence was used to transcribe this panel and to assist the writer by summarizing key points and searching the transcript for quotes. No piece of the story was directly written by AI, and the writer fact-checked all quotes.