Donors and Finances

Editorial Independence

We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.

Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.

Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year (Note: Underscore acknowledges all donors, regardless of amount given, on our website). We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN’s Membership Standards.

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Institutional Supporters

2024

MAJOR FUNDERS

• Ford Foundation
• Inatai Foundation
• Meyer Memorial Trust
• M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust
• MHCRC Community Grants
• Press Forward

CONTRIBUTING FUNDERS

• Collins Foundation
• Google News Initiative/Institute for Nonprofit News
• LION Publishers
• Oregon Community Foundation
  • Stearns Family Fund
  • Bob and Joan Taylor Family Fund
  • Fred W. Fields Fund
  • The Leadings Fund
  • Angell Family Fund
• NewsMatch
• Poynter Institute
• Report for America
• Roundhouse Foundation
• Running Strong for American Indian Youth
• Society of Environmental Journalists

2023

MAJOR FUNDERS

• Collins Foundation
• Inasmuch Foundation
• Inatai Foundation
• Meyer Memorial Trust
• M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust

CONTRIBUTING FUNDERS

• Fund for Investigative Journalism
• Oregon Community Foundation
• NewsMatch
• Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship
• Report for America
• Reva and David Logan Foundation
• Roundhouse Foundation
• Seeding Justice

2022

MAJOR FUNDERS

• Google News Initiative
• Inasmuch Foundation
• Inatai Foundation
• Meyer Memorial Trust

CONTRIBUTING FUNDERS

• American Journalism Project
• Flathead Beacon Foundation
• NewsMatch
• Oregon Community Foundation
• Report for America
• Roundhouse Foundation

2019-2021

• American Journalism Project
• Collins Foundation
• Facebook Journalism Project
• Inasmuch Foundation
• Jonathan Logan Family Foundation
• Knight Foundation
• Meyer Memorial Trust
• Native Arts & Cultures Foundation
• Newsmatch
• Oregon Community Foundation
• Roundhouse Foundation
• Solutions Journalism Network

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Individual Donors

2024

2023

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Financial Reports

Underscore was fiscally sponsored by the Institute for Nonprofit News from 2019-2020 and obtained nonprofit status in 2021, which means our first available 990 was from 2021.