We’re legit! The journo fund has earned independent nonprofit status.

Summer brought good news for the journo fund, when we learned on June 22 that our application for independent nonprofit status was approved by the IRS. Now NMPIJ is tax-exempt 503c3 organization on its own. We’re grateful to the New Mexico Community Foundation for serving as our fiscal sponsor during our start-up year.

We made a splash at the Santa Fe Reporter’s Best of Santa Fe block party, collecting $300 in donations for the fund with the help of celebrity dunk tank victims. And now it’s even easier to donate, thanks to to the wonders of Paypal.

Up next, we are accepting applications for our fall internship programs, open to high school and colleges students who can apply here before the end of the month.

Thanks for helping to spread the word.

Big thanks to our early donors!

We are very close to fully funding our pilot internship program, and we could not have gotten this far without the help of the following donors. Thanks for supporting the fund’s mission to train journalists, promote transparency in government and tell stories that matter to our community.

Joseph Day

Marilyn Bane

Susan and Bill Banowsky

Egolf + Ferlic + Harwood

Sharon Elias

Karen Heldmeyer

Thomas Hester

Pat Hodapp

Jonathan Frenzen

Catherine Oppenheimer

Janis Rutschman and Vickie Sewing

Kathryn Smith            

Peter St. Cyr

Quezada Family Insurance

Alan Webber

(*and all the participants in the Best of Santa Fe 2017 dunk tank!)

Special thanks also  to the Violet Crown for hosting the Santa Fe Reporter’s Photo Show on April 25 from 6 to 8 pm, with a silent auction of winning images to benefit the fund.





Sponsor a Student Journalism Intern

The New Mexico Fund for Public Interest Journalism is seeking support for its a six-week reporting and writing training workshop with veteran journalist educator and mentor Julia Goldberg, former editor of the Santa Fe Reporter and lead faculty member at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Email [email protected] to let us know you might be willing to sponsor a student with a donation.

During the program, Goldberg will:

  • provide curriculum and classroom training for students to develop skills in interviewing, research and writing stories for publication
  • develop with each student a reporting plan that explores an artist or artistic endeavor in northern New Mexico with a focus on cultural diversity, identity and social change
  • oversee and edit stories for publication

The program will be six weeks long and consist of:

  • two weeks of classroom training consisting of two two-hour classes
  • two weeks of field work for reporting with the student working independently in the field for at least one week
  • two weeks of writing and editing with the student working in consultation with the program’s mentor for planning and editing.

Work is intended for publication in the Santa Fe Reporter and on nmjournalism.org.

Each six-week training session will be limited to four students who must attend the first two-week classroom training together.

Student interns will be paid $500 for the entire internship and receive a certificate of completion with publication of their pieces. The mentor will be compensated.