Staff Reports
The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg says it “reported an annual surplus of $627,000 in 2016, continuing its trend of continuous financial improvement,” according to a recent press release.
“I applaud the hard work of the Poynter staff to get us to the point where we have begun to reinvest in the Institute,” said Neil Brown, the newly appointed president of the nonprofit journalism education organization, in a statement. “That’s a trend that we plan to continue heading into the new year.”
Overall, however, “Poynter ran at an operating loss of $520,000 in 2016,” the release said. Still, “this is a 59 percent improvement on the 2015 results.”
The organization further “anticipates that its 2017 tax return will show that the Institute has doubled operating revenues in 10 years,” it said. “The Institute reduced expenses in 2016 by 18.3 percent, while teaching 100,000 people from more than 100 countries and all 50 states.”
“The media industry is vibrant but the environment is challenging in profound ways, from shifts in audience behavior to issues surrounding trust and credibility,” Brown said. “Poynter will continue to respond by offering practical and relevant work to fortify journalism and strengthen democracy. Our brand of training has never been more important than it is now.”
Here’s the rest of the release:
Cash and publicly traded investments increased by nearly 25 percent due in large part to grants and gifts received for multi-year programs. These significant contributions to Poynter demonstrate growing confidence and commitment by funders in support of the Institute’s work.
The multi-year projects include grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to modernize the Institute’s online learning platform, News University, and to accelerate digital transformation in local news through the Local News Innovation project.
The Newmark Philanthropies endowed the Newmark Chair for Journalism Ethics at the Institute, and Poynter will host its inaugural Journalism Ethics Summit on Dec. 4 in Washington, D.C.
A grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation funded specialized reporting institutes aimed at ensuring that citizens benefit from the best reporting on key issues.
And Poynter expanded the work of its International Fact-Checking Network through significant support from the Omidyar Network and the National Endowment for Democracy.
Overall, the Institute’s finances were bolstered in 2016 by a 58 percent increase in contributions and grants revenue.
This includes proceeds from Poynter’s annual fundraising gala, the Bowtie Ball. In 2016, Poynter honored NBC News legend Tom Brokaw with the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism.
