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How To Support IowaWatch
Do you want to see some in-depth investigative and explanatory journalism focused on state and local issues? If so, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism.
We appreciate any level of financial support you give to be a partner with the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism – IowaWatch’s mission of producing investigative and community affairs reporting and to train college students to do the reporting necessary to have in-depth news and information.
Partnership Levels:
We offer a tiered partnership plan. We encourage you to consider spreading out your donation to automatic monthly payments. A basic $45 membership, for example, costs $3.75 a month. A $100 Friend donation is $8.50 per month.
- Member Level: $45-$99
- Friend Level: $100-$499
- Supporter Level: $500-$2,499
- Watchdog Level: $2,500-$9,999
- Gold Level: $10,000 and above
If you would rather write a check, please make it payable to The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism.
Checks can be sent to:
The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism
c/o Suzanne Behnke, exec. dir.
3109 146th St.
Urbandale, IA 50323
Supporters who use either method to donate will receive a written acknowledgment of their contributions and confirmation that the funds are restricted to use by ICPAJ.
The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and donations to our Center are subject to rules for non-profit donations that are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service.
Questions on the process? Email the Iowa Center’s Executive Director-Editor suzanne-behnke@iowawatch.org.
Thank you for your consideration and support.
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IowaWatch: A Community Effort
The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism-IowaWatch.org is grateful to the following donors for their contributions to our efforts to provide Iowans with investigative and explanatory reporting and writing and to sustain the vital role of a public-spirited free press in a democratic society:
- The Fund for Nonprofit News at The Miami Foundation (coalition of Democracy Fund, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, the Facebook Journalism Project, the Colorado Media Project, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, the Rita Allen Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, and the Present Progressive Fund at Schwab Charitable)
- The Reva and David Logan Foundation
- Craig Newmark Philanthropies
- Solutions Journalism Network
- The Walton Family Foundation
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
- Community Foundation of Johnson County
- The Meredith Foundation
- Lynch Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation
- The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA)
- Woodward Communications
- University of Northern Iowa Science in the Media Project
- KCRG-TV9
- Gannett Foundation
- Des Moines Register
- Iowa City Press-Citizen
- Institute for Nonprofit News
- Iowa Freedom of Information Council
- Iowa Broadcasters Association
- Iowa Newspaper Foundation
- Faegre Baker Daniels LLC
- University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- Iowa State University Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication
- Associated Press
- Iowa Insurance Division
- Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation
- Fund for Investigative Journalism
- John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
- AARP Iowa
- Dave Anderson
- Michael Anderson
- Stephanie Aranas
- Tony Baranowski and Sara Konrad Baranowski
- Donald Baxter
- Steve Beatty
- Suzanne Behnke
- Laura and Nicholas Bergus
- Blank & McCune Real Estate
- Taylor Brown
- Dora and Bill Brubaker
- Stephen J. and Cheryl C. Berry
- Burlington Hawk Eye
- Bridget Casey
- Carpenters LU 1260
- Chia Yu “Joy” Chang
- Edward Cohn
- Corridor Media Group
- Demitri Cherniak
- Jayson Clayworth
- John and Diana Colgan
- Brian Cooper
- The Courier (Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA)
- Sue Cross
- James Daane
- Pamela Dempsey
- Valerie Dennis
- Des Moines Marriott Downtown
- David Downing
- Susan Doyle
- Anne Duggan
- Gabriella Dunn
- Frank and Gigi Durham
- Carolyn Dyer
- Dyersville Commercial
- Harry Edelman
- MacKenzie Elmer
- Sonja Elmquist
- Chris Essig
- Randy Evans
- Thomas Frerichs
- Scott and Becky Gardner
- Rebecca Gjendem
- Marian Goldeen
- Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber
- John Gruber-Miller
- Stephen Gruber-Miller
- Robert Gutsche Jr.
- Andy and Dee Hall
- Kate Hayden
- Nora Heaton
- Diane Heldt
- Charles Hemmeline
- Hills Bank & Trust Co.
- Alecia Hilmer
- Jennifer Horn-Frasier
- Brant Houston
- Carol Hunter
- Humanities Iowa
- Iowa Association for Justice
- Iowa City-Coralville Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Iowa State Bar Association
- Jim Jacobson
- David and Lynn Jansen
- Paul Jensen
- Erin and Thomas Jordan
- Madeline Jerousek
- KGAN CBS2
- Clark Kauffman
- Volha Kananovich
- Erik Kelderman
- Mary Kemen
- Patrick Kinney
- Zack Kucharski
- Kuhl, Phillips, Jans, Inc.
- John Kenyon
- Paul Kramer
- Julia LaBua
- Julia LaCouture
- Tessa Lengeling
- Tony Lengeling
- Julia LaBua
- Sara Langenberg
- Steffi Lee
- Michael Leland
- Brad Lint
- Michael Maharry
- Jim Malewitz
- Ed Malloy
- Meghan Malloy
- Christopher Martin
- Mia Massicotte
- Lisa McClelland
- Katelynn McCollough
- Katherine McMullen
- Hilary McQueen
- MECCA Services
- Mary Sharp
- Forrest Meyer
- MidwestOne Bank
- Brian Mills
- Lindsey Moon
- Brian Morelli
- Lyle and Vicki Muller
- Amalie Nash
- Dave Nixon
- Harry and Nancy Olthoff
- Nicholas B. Ottaway Foundation
- David Perlmutter
- Susan and Shawn Plank
- Judy Polumbaum
- Trinity Ray
- Rose Rennekamp
- Steve Ridge
- Lisa Rossi
- Brian Smith
- Tom Smull
- Dave and Rhonda Storey
- Beth Saxton
- Richard Schicker
- Margaret Schmitz
- Grant Schulte
- David Schwartz
- Sid Scott
- Steve Semken
- Jim Sernoe, in memory of Don Smith, Kay Amert and John Bennett
- Vanessa Shelton
- Bill Sherman
- Susan Shullaw
- Irma Simpson
- Jane Singer
- Mark Smith
- James Snyder
- Jeff Stein
- Scott Stewart
- Dave Storey
- Catherine Sullivan
- Alan Swanson
- Christophe Trappe
- Melissa Tully
- Mary Ungs-Sogaard
- McCormick Foundation
- Richard Tapscott
- University of Iowa Honors Fellows Program
- UnityPoint Health of Des Moines
- Danny Valentine
- Sharon Varallo
- Timothy Wagner
- Bob Walker
- Floyd Walter
- Colleen Walter
- Ken Wall
- Tom Wertz
- Connie Wimer and Frank Fogarty
- Tyson Wirth
- Stephen Witt
- Corinna Zarek
- Zhi Xiong
In addition to these donations, the Iowa Center’s work has been totally dependent upon the thousands of volunteer hours from our unpaid staff, contributing writers and other individuals. The Board of Directors and officers are deeply indebted to the following individuals:
- Noelle Alkhawaja
- Michael Anderson
- Laura Arny
- Brenna Beer
- Cheryl Berry
- Harrison Berry
- Lily Bohlke
- Allison Bradley
- Tricia Brown
- Hayley Bruce
- Katie Buchholz
- Michael Bugeya
- Jay Capron
- Dennis Chamberlin
- Joy (Chia-Yu) Chang
- Cait Conner
- Diana Colgan
- Libby Collins
- Maria Curi
- Dana Davidsen
- Julia Davis
- Josie D’Agostino
- Steve Delaney
- Julia Davis
- Melea Dau
- Bailey Doyle
- Lindsey Drilling
- Gabriella Dunn
- MacKenzie Elmer
- Randy Evans
- Danielle Ferguson
- Sarah Fields
- Andrea Frantz
- Allison French
- Jane Fritsch
- Caitlin Fry
- Gabe Gao
- Michael Garvin
- Erin Gerken
- John Goodlove
- Stephen Gruber-Miller
- Xinran Gu
- Robert Gutsche Jr.
- Cindy Hadish
- Sarah Hadley
- Tyler Harris
- Nora Heaton
- Mike Hendrickson
- Emily Highnam
- Emily Hoerner
- Rebekah Hoeger
- Meghan Horihan
- Guannan Huang
- Molly Hunter
- Brett Johnson
- Krista Johnson
- Sujin Kim
- Zack Kucharski
- Katie Kuntz Wilcox
- Jerry Lalor
- Anne Marie Lathrop
- Daniel Lathrop
- Tessa Lengeling
- John Lindsay
- John Lohman
- Jacob Luplow
- Robert Maharry
- Jim Malewitz
- Inma Mateos
- Clare McCarthy
- Katelynn McCollough
- Tyler McClelland
- Matthew McDermott
- Katherine McMullen
- Greta Meyle
- Lauren Mills Shotwell
- Bill Monroe
- Benjamin Moore
- Chris Mudge
- Cheryl Mullenbach
- Charles Munro
- Thomas Nelson
- Nancy Newhoff
- Taylor Odekirk
- Tiffany O’Donnell
- Ashley Oerman
- Madison Peterson
- Rachel Peterson
- Rebecca Pierson
- Mariah Prendergast
- K. Rambo
- Bailey Ramsey
- Steve Ridge
- Patrick Riepe
- Brittany Robb
- Ryan Roccaforte
- Shaena Roth
- Amber Rouse
- David Ryfe
- Julian Sanchez
- Donna Schill
- Alex Schuman
- Erin Selin
- Abigail Sheehan
- Lu Shen
- Jeff Sigmund
- Heather Spangler
- Jaime Spencer
- Mark Siebert
- Brian Steffen
- Joe Sheller
- Jana Shepherd
- Jonathan Stefonek
- Kathryn Susik
- Linh Ta
- Makayla Tendall
- Helaina Thompson
- Lily Valentine
- Jaime Vargas
- Lauren Wade
- Danielle Wilde
- Peter Wilson
- Brian Winkel
- Patrick Wright
- Tom Yunt
- Lamia Zia
* * *
Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism Policy on Financial Support
Overview
This policy seeks to reconcile the need for financial support with the values of the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism, the foremost of which is editorial independence. While the Center fails if it becomes unsustainable financially, it also fails if it loses public confidence in its integrity. The policy acknowledges, too, that individuals and organization invest in projects that further their own goals and values, directly or indirectly. Hence, the policy is organized around three categories of financial supporters’ intentions – those who seek to support investigative journalism in general; those who seek to support investigations, operations and activities in particular areas of interest; and those who seek to support specific investigations. Furthermore, this policy includes a section outlining the rights of the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism’s financial supporters.
The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism’s Board of Directors retains full authority over the Policy on Financial Support and revenue generation efforts and may reject financial support for any reason, to protect the best journalistic and business interests of the organization. The policy pertains to cash support as well as to in-kind support of the Center. The Center exercises close scrutiny when deciding who can fund, sponsor or otherwise underwrite ongoing news coverage. The Center is especially cautious with respect to potential funders whose principal purpose or agenda is to bring about a specific political outcome or to influence public policy or public opinion on controversial matters that are the current subjects of its ongoing coverage.
Like many news organizations, the Center maintains a firewall between news coverage decisions and its sources of revenue. The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism’s financial supporters shall have no voice in the Center’s editorial decisions. All donations, sponsorships and other forms of financial support are subject to compliance with the Policy on Financial Support, including provisions for transparency, the disclosure of donors’ identities, and the prohibition on donations from political parties, elected officials, or others whose contribution may affect public perception of the Center’s independence. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of the Center’s funders or their products, services or opinions.
Support of investigative journalism in general
The Center will seek and accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations in any amount for the general support of the center’s activities. Acceptance of this support neither expresses nor implies any voice in editorial decisions beyond the broadly stated mission of investigative journalism. We expect that most gifts and grants of this type will come from foundations, organizations and individuals concerned about the future of journalism in general and the future of investigative journalism in particular.
Support of particular areas of interest
The Center will establish a limited number of funds to support investigations in specific areas of public importance, such as the environment, education or governmental integrity. To assure that donors respond to the Center’s priorities rather than the Center responding to the agenda of others, each fund will be approved by the Board of Directors before any gifts are solicited and accepted.
The initial list of approved funds is: Government Integrity, Environment, Health and Welfare, Consumer Affairs, Justice, Sports.
The Center also will accept support designated for specific areas of operations, such as professional training programs; educational activities for students and the public; data analysis and specific features at www.IowaWatch.org that are not compromised by the financial support; and activities, such as an annual reception and dinner that focuses on open government. As described elsewhere in this policy, financial supporters shall have no voice in decisions regarding the Center’s operations and activities.
The activation of such funds shall be contingent upon development of an efficient and reliable system for tracking the receipt and expenditure of these donations.
The Center may accept contributions from individuals and organizations that agree to the following conditions:
- Gifts and grants are tied to a subject area defined by the Center but not to a particular project or investigation.
- All donations of $5,000 or more will be announced at the time the gift or grant, and publicly acknowledged for at least 12 months.
Support of specific investigations
The Center will consider gifts or grants to support particular investigative projects. As noted above, the Center exercises close scrutiny when deciding who can fund, sponsor, or otherwise underwrite ongoing news coverage. The Center is especially cautious with respect to potential funders whose principal purpose or agenda is to bring about a specific political outcome or to influence public policy or public opinion on controversial matters that are the current subjects of its ongoing coverage.
All project-specific grants require approval from the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism Board of Directors and will conform to the following conditions:
- The Center exercises editorial control of any project. The donor specifically cedes any right to review editorial content or to restrict its distribution.
- All funds are transferred to the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism before the start of the investigation and are not refundable.
- Financial contributions to specific projects are totally transparent and public, with the contribution being publicly acknowledged and a disclaimer specifying the nature of the relationship.
Rights of the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism’s financial supporters
Every financial supporter of the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism is entitled to a full and clear written description of the arrangement, including:
- Acknowledgement of the Center’s receipt of the support.
- Public recognition of the support.
- Description of how the support will be used.
- A statement whether the supporter has received anything of value from the Center in exchange for the support (as required by IRS).
- A list of key dates and deliverables, including such items as when publicity will commence and when any required progress reports will be submitted.
- Description of mutually agreed upon set of benefits, if any, for the funder. These may include such items as naming rights, expected services for media partners, sponsorship acknowledgements and free tickets to Center events.
- Assurance that the Center will be held accountable for delivering on commitments made to financial supporters.
- Right of first refusal for subsequent funding cycles of operations and activities that supporters currently fund, unless the Center determines that the supporter is no longer appropriate to the operation or activity; or a relationship with the supporter is no longer in the best interests of the Center.
Procedures
1. Revenue generation is the work of the board, management and designated staff, consultants or volunteers. Only those who are identified by the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism’s management and approved by the board will be authorized to raise revenue on behalf of the Center. All such efforts by the board, management, staff or volunteers will strictly adhere to this policy.
2. In the spirit of transparency, the Center will compile a complete list of donors each fiscal year or more frequently, and make the list available for public inspection through the Center’s website and other reports.
- The Center will not accept gifts from anonymous contributors.
- The Center will not accept gifts from political parties, elected officials or others whose contribution may affect public perception of the Center’s independence or reputation.
- Gifts may be in cash, in-kind services or tangible goods. If not in cash, a value will be attached to the gift.
- The list of donors will be published at least semi-annually, but may be published more frequently as directed by the board.
- The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism never will share donors’ personal information for the sake of advertising or other direct-mail efforts, unless the donor consents in advance.
3. All checks or credit card transactions deposited to the Center must be intended by the donor to be given as a gift, meeting the criteria above.
- Checks, debit or credit transactions will be made payable to the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism. Instructions provided to donors for gifts to the Center will instruct the donor to make the check payable to the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism.
- An Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism Gift Deposit Form will be completed for each check, debit or credit card transaction sent to the Center. Correspondence with the donor will accompany the Gift Deposit Form when doing so will be useful in documenting the intent to give the gift. In accordance with good donor stewardship practices and with all IRS regulations, all gifts will receive an acknowledgment in writing or by e-mail, which will be archived.
4. As technology develops, methods may be implemented to accept very small donations, or micropayments, through online transactions. These contributions ranging from pennies to $20 might be associated with general support, subject specific funds or specific projects.
5. Good internal control procedures must be followed. These include:
- Restrictively endorsing checks – for deposit only – immediately upon receipt.
- Depositing checks within five days of receipt.
- Storing undeposited funds in a locked desk or safe overnight.
- Reconciling deposits with gift deposit form.
- Where credit card payments are accepted, the Center will obliterate the credit card number from any copies of source documents after deposit.
6. Gifts of stock, real estate or other non-cash gifts not covered elsewhere may only be accepted following specific approval by the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism Board of Directors.
7. Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism fund development practices and accounting for gifts will fulfill all Internal Revenue Service, state of Iowa and other relevant regulations at the state and federal level.
Adopted 10-5-12