Giving Compass' Take:

• Christine Schmidt reports that The Seattle Times and the Seattle Foundation are working together to raise money for investigative journalism. 

• Is this the best way to ensure the sustainability of high-quality local journalism? What does local investigative journalism look like in your community? 

• Learn about the impacts of solutions journalism. 

The Seattle Times is looking to add $500,000 more in crowdfunding from small supporters and those civically passionate “longtime subscribers” to beef up its investigative team — and the Seattle Foundation is happy to be its nonprofit savings account.

“This is not going to save journalism,” said Sharon Chan, the Times’ vice president of innovation, product, and development. But: “It’s going to allow us to do in-depth journalism that serves the public we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. That will resonate with potential subscribers as well. The most important thing is enabling us to do journalism that drives social impact.”

The Seattle Foundation has not donated money directly to The Seattle Times, which remains one of the shrinking number of family-owned major metro newspapers. But pro bono sponsorship and highly regarded word-of-mouth aren’t bad. The Seattleites’ almost-decade-long relationship has helped the Times take the lead in local fundraising, with the community foundation’s reputation by its side. And it helps that the Times’ solutions focus, honed through multiple prototype topical labs funded by philanthropy, makes supporting its journalism an easier sell.

Read the full article about raising money for investigative journalism by Christine Schmidt at NiemanLab.