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Pro Publica Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Pro Publica Inc

Pro publica is an independent, non-profit, pulitzer prize-winning newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.

$2.1M
Granted FY2025still arriving
33
Grants FY2025still arriving
23
States reached
$110k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$5.9MPublic Benefit$1.8MCommunity Improvement$179kEducation$167kHuman Services$116kEnvironment$69kHealth$58kCivil Rights$16k
02FY2025 · 33 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 33 grants below total $1,983,891, the rows itemized in this filing. The $2,052,391 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $68,500 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k15 grants · $450k
  • $50k–250k18 grants · $1.5M
$69,750
Median grant
23
States reached
$135M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING$110,158
ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS$109,658
STATES NEWSROOM$106,190
ARIZONA LOCAL POST DBA ARIZONA LUMINARIA$99,448
INVISIBLE INSTITUTE$99,327
DEEP SOUTH TODAY DBA VERITE$99,200
AMNEWS CORP$99,200
ILLINOIS PRESS FOUNDATION INC$99,200
CONNECTICUT NEWS PROJECT INC$93,000
HONOLULU CIVIL BEAT INC$74,400
MUCKROCK FOUNDATION DBA MLK50$73,105
MCCLATCHY COMPANY LLC$71,894
KUOW PUGET SOUND PUBLIC RADIO$69,750
STREET ROOTS$69,750
GREY MATTERS PROJECT DBA THE CURRENT$69,750
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY22–25, $185k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%STREET ROOTS: $70k → 12%STREET ROOTS INC: $23k → 12%DOCUMENTED LTD: $69k → 20%DOCUMENTED LTD: $23k → 20%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
ME
WA
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
AZ
NM
AR
TN
NC
SC
HI
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
FL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.7M · 57 repeat orgs$1.6M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +14% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

57 repeat relationships: 21 still active in FY2025, 36 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

57
21

Total granted

$8.7M
$1.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+14%
+14%

Still filing today

63%
29%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 82% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $351k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CulturePublic BenefitCommunity ImprovementCivil RightsEducationHuman ServicesOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING
    7× · 2019–2025 · $590k · revenue +33%
  • DS
    DEEP SOUTH TODAY
    3× · 2023–2025 · $275k · revenue +55%
  • NP
    NASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIO
    5× · 2020–2024 · $257k · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • AL
    ADVANCE LOCAL MEDIA
    one grant, 2019 · $118k
  • NY
    NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO
    one grant, 2019 · $97k · revenue -1%
  • BC
    BAY CITY NEWS FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $92k · revenue +14%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Press Watch

To educate journalists and the public, and foster public debate, about improving political journalism to reflect public needs and hold the powerful accountable.

—
2
Texas Tribune Inc

The texas tribune promotes civic engagement and public education across the state by producing and sharing for free public data interactives, statewide events and intensive and daily reporting on texas public policy, politics and current…

Education
3
Nashville Public Media Inc

To empower the people of Nashville to make informed decisions by providing non-partisan journalism from an independent, nonprofit newsroom.

Arts & Culture
4
San Francisco Public Press

The mission of the San Francisco Public Press is to enrich civic life by publishing investigative and solutions journalism that engages diverse audiences and promotes public accountability. The San Francisco Public Press…

Education
5
America's Newspapers

Providing research, education and practical information all aimed at optimizing newspapers' business operations, deepening their community engagement and enhancing the quality of their journalism.

Employment
6
Springfield Daily Citizen Inc

The mission of the springfield daily citizen is to inform our community and be a catalyst for good.

Arts & Culture
7
Independence Public Media of Philadelphia Inc
Arts & Culture
8
Journalism New England

The organization is non-profit organization working to build and sustain local news and ensure that local news organizations across new england are supported with the kinds of tailored problem-solving, training and partnerships they need…

Civil Rights
9
Public Broadcasting of Colorado Inc

To deliver meaningful news, music, and cultural experiences to everyone in colorado using the power of the human voice in all its forms

Arts & Culture
10
Citizens News Guild Inc

Citizens news guild educates the public by publishing non-partisan state and local news.

Community Improvement
11
Canary Media Inc

Canary Media is an independent, nonprofit newsroom covering the transition to clean energy.

Environment
12
Wyofile

Wyofile is an independent, nonprofit news service focused on the people, places and policy of wyoming. recognizing the rapid decline in resources among traditional news outlets, wyofile offers in-depth coverage of complicated subjects and…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is New Bedford Light; the most unlike its peers is Arizona Local Post. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

48 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 48 of the 90 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
48/48
Grantees still filing
30/48
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS LLC: $566,480 · OtherANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS LLCOAHU PUBLICATIONS INC: $373,270 · OtherOAHU PUBLICATIONS INCTRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY LLC: $297,751 · OtherTRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY LLCTHE SEATTLE TIMES: $278,974 · OtherTHE SEATTLE TIMESSIJ Holdings: $242,998 · OtherLEE ENTERPRISES INC: $212,147 · Other+40 more: $2,672,541 · Other+40 moreOREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING: $590,272 · Arts & CultureOREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTINGDEEP SOUTH TODAY: $274,510 · Arts & CultureDEEP SOUTH TODAYCity Report Inc: $273,600 · Arts & CultureCity Report IncNASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIO: $257,195 · Arts & CultureNASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIOSTATES NEWSROOM: $249,063 · Arts & CultureSTATES NEWSROOMILLINOIS PRESS FOUNDATION INC: $237,346 · Arts & CultureCONNECTICUT NEWS PROJECT INC: $225,600 · Arts & CultureMountain State Spotlight Inc: $222,015 · Arts & CultureTHE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE INC: $205,782 · Arts & CultureHonolulu Civil Beat Inc: $173,600 · Arts & Culture+22 more: $1,880,243 · Arts & Culture+22 moreMUCKROCK FOUNDATION INC: $165,361 · Civil RightsInvisible Institute: $115,225 · Civil RightsGREY MATTERS PROJECT INC: $196,783 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY LIFT CORP: $52,275 · Community ImprovementInformed California Foundation DBA - Open Vallejo: $115,320 · EducationNEW YORK FOCUS INC: $93,000 · EducationSTREET ROOTS INC: $93,000 · Human ServicesDocumented LTD: $92,251 · Human ServicesTHE CENTER FOR MICHIGAN: $46,043 · Public BenefitNEBRASKA JOURNALISM TRUST: $30,483 · Public BenefitFORT WORTH REPORT: $10,000 · Public BenefitHIGH COUNTRY NEWS: $69,487 · Environment
Other$4,644,161Arts & Culture$4,589,226Civil Rights$280,586Community Improvement$249,058Education$208,320Human Services$185,251Public Benefit$86,526Environment$69,487

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetOREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING: $590,272 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetDEEP SOUTH TODAY: $274,510 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetCity Report Inc: $273,600 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetNASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIO: $257,195 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetSTATES NEWSROOM: $249,063 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetILLINOIS PRESS FOUNDATION INC: $237,346 over 3y, 6.9% of budgetCONNECTICUT NEWS PROJECT INC: $225,600 over 3y, 5.2% of budgetMountain State Spotlight Inc: $222,015 over 4y, 7.2% of budgetTHE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE INC: $205,782 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetGREY MATTERS PROJECT INC: $196,783 over 4y, 9.0% of budgetHonolulu Civil Beat Inc: $173,600 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetMUCKROCK FOUNDATION INC: $165,361 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetWCIJ INC: $148,252 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetNew Mexico In Depth Inc: $128,796 over 2y, 14% of budgetMAINE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING: $126,204 over 3y, 13% of budgetBETHEL BROADCASTING INC: $116,250 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetInformed California Foundation DBA - Open Vallejo: $115,320 over 2y, 46% of budgetInvisible Institute: $115,225 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetArizona Local Post: $107,715 over 2y, 16% of budgetFRONTIER MEDIA GROUP: $105,290 over 3y, 8.7% of budgetCAPITAL & MAIN: $102,250 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetNEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO: $97,176 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHAMPTON ROADS EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION INC: $93,275 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNEW YORK FOCUS INC: $93,000 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetSTREET ROOTS INC: $93,000 over 2y, 3.8% of budgetKENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO INC: $92,256 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetBAY CITY NEWS FOUNDATION: $92,256 over 1y, 21% of budgetDocumented LTD: $92,251 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $92,250 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSEARCHLIGHT NEW MEXICO NEWS: $92,102 over 2y, 7.1% of budgetCHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $90,540 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO: $89,028 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetRHODE ISLAND PUBLIC RADIO: $85,944 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetAtlanta Educational Telecommunications Collab: $82,349 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetNEW BEDFORD LIGHT: $73,800 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetCOASTALASKA INC: $73,317 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetKUOW PUGET SOUND PUBLIC RADIO: $69,750 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHIGH COUNTRY NEWS: $69,487 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetVPM MEDIA CORPORATION: $64,140 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY COMMUNICATIONS INC: $62,220 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetMISSISSIPPI JOURNALISM AND EDUCATION GROUP: $59,040 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetBEACON MEDIA INC: $55,760 over 1y, 6.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY LIFT CORP: $52,275 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetKQED INC: $23,948 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING ↗
  • Who funds DEEP SOUTH TODAY ↗
  • Who funds City Report Inc ↗
  • Who funds NASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIO ↗
  • Who funds STATES NEWSROOM ↗
  • Who funds ILLINOIS PRESS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CONNECTICUT NEWS PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds Mountain State Spotlight Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE INC ↗
  • Who funds GREY MATTERS PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds Honolulu Civil Beat Inc ↗
  • Who funds MUCKROCK FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds WCIJ INC ↗
  • Who funds New Mexico In Depth Inc ↗
  • Who funds MAINE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING ↗
  • Who funds BETHEL BROADCASTING INC ↗
  • Who funds Informed California Foundation DBA - Open Vallejo ↗
  • Who funds Invisible Institute ↗
  • Who funds Arizona Local Post ↗
  • Who funds FRONTIER MEDIA GROUP ↗
  • Who funds CAPITAL & MAIN ↗
  • Who funds NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO ↗
  • Who funds HAMPTON ROADS EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds NEW YORK FOCUS INC ↗
  • Who funds STREET ROOTS INC ↗
  • Who funds KENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO INC ↗
  • Who funds BAY CITY NEWS FOUNDATION ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Groundtruth Proje…The Miami Foundation …Institute for Nonprof…The Lenfest Institute…Solutions Journalism …Fund for Investigativ…Local Independent Onl…American Journalism P…Inasmuch FoundationCorporation for Publi…American Press Instit…Cars for Charity Inc
The Groundtruth Project IncMA71.4× affinity32 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Groundtruth Project Inc · The Miami Foundation Inc · Institute for Nonprofit News · The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Special Asset Fund of Tpf · Solutions Journalism Network Inc · Fund for Investigative Journalism Inc · Local Independent Online News Publishers Inc · American Journalism Project Inc · Inasmuch Foundation · Corporation for Public Broadcasting · American Press Institute Inc · Cars for Charity Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Pro Publica Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Pro Publica Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Oregon Public Broadcasting: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 90 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Pro Publica’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home