Hi Reader,

Yesterday, we began our two-week fall member drive, and I’m so grateful to the more than 250 readers who stepped up with a donation. Join them with your gift of any amount. And as we ask for your support, we thought we’d take this opportunity to elaborate on how ProPublica is funded and clarify the relationship between our funders and our journalism. 

As a nonprofit, ProPublica’s work is powered primarily through donations. We have a policy of transparent financial reporting, issuing three public reports each year that show the impact of our work, along with our annual financial statements.

And, my favorite, a lot of our funding comes from our members. Over 55,000 of you. Supported by the public, our newsroom works in the public interest. We are not beholden to individual benefactors. Funders have no say in what we cover. Our mission, above all else, is to expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing.

When ProPublica was awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for public service for our series on Supreme Court ethics, senior editor Jesse Eisinger, the leader of the reporting team, said:

“What buoys me is that everyone in this room knows that our work is undoubtedly about more than prizes. We are in a privileged position in this world. We can orient ourselves entirely around the search for truth. We aren’t perfect, and we don’t have a monopoly on the truth, but we care about it more than any other value. It’s a dangerous moment for our profession, the most dangerous of my lifetime, and I think in the country’s modern history. But I remind myself that we have no loyalties, belong to no groups, call for no prescriptions, believe in no creeds above the truth. And for that, I am grateful.”

A healthy democracy requires strong journalism like ProPublica’s, with the power to insist upon transparency up to the highest levels of government, businesses, institutions and more. Our reporters dig deep, knowing that a sustained public interrogation of injustice has the power to intervene in harmful policies and practices, and strengthen democratic governance. Our work has proven time and again that people and policymakers, when confronted with difficult truths, will be inspired to push for change. Who funds this critical work? Readers. Thanks to donations from folks like you, we’re growing larger, getting stronger and spurring more impact than ever before. Give today, and help ProPublica ensure that we continue to have the resources to follow the most important stories wherever they lead — for however long it takes.

Thanks so much, 

Jill Shepherd

Proud ProPublican