Journalism Funding Partners names Rusty Coats as Executive Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Posting: Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Longtime leader in the evolution of local news to champion emerging nonprofit's work to increase depth and diversity of local journalism
Journalism Funding Partners (JFP) announced today that Rusty Coats, a longtime champion of local news as an award-winning reporter, digital innovator and industry leader, will be the organization's Executive Director.
"Rusty is a perfect fit for JFP. He checks all the boxes. A journalist, digital pioneer and a keen understanding of how non-profits serve their communities," said JFP Board Chair Orage Quarles III. "We will maximize all of his talents as we connect newsrooms to funding sources."
This capacity-building position is funded in part by a two-year grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to support JFP's mission to increase the depth, diversity and sustainability of local journalism by building and stewarding connections between funders and news organizations.
This capacity-building position is funded in part by a two-year grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to support JFP's mission to increase the depth, diversity and sustainability of local journalism by building and stewarding connections between funders and news organizations.
"I believe local journalism is vital to the health of our democracy and have worked my entire career to champion its role in our communities - that it is on a par with clean air, clean water, education, healthcare and the arts to support a functioning society," Coats said. "And I look forward to building on previous work to establish JFP as a conduit for new pathways in journalism, philanthropy and local impact."
Coats, who began his journalism career as an award-winning reporter and columnist, pivoted to digital in the mid-1990s, launching and managing digital news sites at the local and corporate level. For the past 11 years, he has worked as a consultant at Coats2Coats, working with more than 200 nonprofit, for-profit and entrepreneurial news operations, as well as with foundations funding journalism innovation and sustainability. He has helped small newsrooms reach business sustainability and worked with the largest tech platforms to elevate the importance and success of local news organizations.
“Rusty really stood out in an extremely competitive field of candidates," said JFP Vice Chair Sheila Solomon. “It’s an exciting time to be doing this work and Rusty brings a dynamic mix of skills as a known leader.”
The JFP Board of Directors is made up of 11 dedicated volunteers with extensive experience in journalism, education, law, nonprofits and philanthropy.
Since mid-2020, JFP has helped secure and is managing more than $1.6 million in grants to support new and expanded local journalism coverage with numerous new partnerships and programs in progress.
JFP currently serves as a bridge and a leader in the growing realm of philanthropy-supported journalism: 1) Enabling major gifts to local journalism - partnerships between funders and news organizations; 2) Fundraising guidance and training for journalism professionals; 3) Enabling broad community giving to local journalism. JFP places an emphasis on supporting efforts to bring the diversity of local journalists to parity with the demographics of the communities they serve. JFP also prioritizes coverage topics that have been particularly reduced by the wholesale declines in local news, including equity, economic mobility, education, health, housing, gun violence and the environment.
The Situation: Foundations and other donors across the country are increasingly embracing the impact philanthropy can have on the depth and diversity of local journalism, seeing this impact as critical to a vibrant democracy and the overall health of their communities. Many individual and institutional donors want to support expanded or improved local journalism in their regions, often with a particular focus area in mind. In many cases, these funders want to support new or expanded coverage at publications or outlets that are part of for-profit organizations – but face the challenge that many foundations have policies that require all grants be made to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and many individual donors are only willing to make donations to a nonprofit for tax-deductibility reasons. In other cases, these funders want to support efforts at nonprofit news organizations but do not feel that they have the journalism experience or understanding to adequately assess the execution and measurable outcomes of the project or activity.
How JFP Makes a Difference: JFP is proud to address this need by serving as a fiscal sponsor – a bridge between the funder and the news organization – allowing an individual or institutional donor to make the contribution through JFP. Sometimes the news organization and funder have already worked everything out, and JFP comes in when it’s time to process and execute the gift. Other times, JFP starts working with the news organization earlier in the process, guiding and supporting a solicitation. In all circumstances, JFP takes its fiduciary responsibilities as fiscal sponsor seriously, ensuring that donated funds are used for the targeted community-benefit-focused activities.
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Media Contact: Rusty Coats, Executive Director | rusty@jfp-local.org | (813) 277-8959