FAQs: Knight Community Match Bonus (2023)
What is the Knight Community ("Local") Match Bonus?
Newsrooms that secure community ("local") match funds to leverage during NewsMatch 2023 will receive a bonus award. Community match funds must have been pledged between January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.
- Secure between $1,000 and $4,999 in local matches and receive a $500 bonus.
- Secure between $5,000 and $9,999 in local matches and receive a $1,000 bonus.
- Secure between $10,000 and $19,999 in local matches and receive a $2,000 bonus.
- Secure $20,000 or more in local matches and receive a $3,000 bonus.
What is a community ("local") match?
A community (or "local") match refers to when a funder or group of funders match donations made to your organization between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31 dollar for dollar. Community matches are secured and given directly to newsrooms and donors must give explicit permission to leverage their contribution as a matching gift in this way to be considered a “community match.” We commonly refer to this as a local match, but that name doesn’t necessarily fit for national or global organizations. That’s why we now say community. Learn more.
Are community match funds able to be matched by NewsMatch?
No, they are not. When reporting donations, gifts may either be counted towards your NewsMatch dollar-for-dollar match or as additional (or “local”) match funds, but not both. For example, if a donor contributes $1,000 to match donations you receive, their gift would be considered a “local match” and could not be reported as a gift to be matched by NewsMatch. Learn more.
Where can I find resources to help secure a local match?
Check out our library of resources to help secure local matches, including letter templates and examples from other newsrooms.
What do I need to report to qualify for this bonus?
In addition to completing the Index survey, you must also complete a NewsMatch Documentation Submission to verify your eligibility. This will include the completion of a Match Cover Sheet and only one form of documentation dated Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, to verify the local matches that will be considered when determining your bonus award
What do you need for a matching gift to qualify for the Community Match Bonus?
We will accept the following forms of verification:
- Pledge form signed by donor
- Letter of intent from donor
- Email confirmation from donor
- Scanned check or receipt
- Screenshot of publicized acknowledgment that names the local match funder and their specific gift amount
As a general rule, we need documentation that demonstrates explicit permission from the donor that their contribution is matching donations made during your year-end campaign.
Do community matches have to be “local”?
Community matches do not technically have to be from "local" supporters. As long as those gifts have been clearly designated as matching funds from the donor, they will count towards this bonus.
Do all of our Board Members agreeing to uniformly donate constitute a "community match fund”?
If all of your Board Members agree to uniformly donate, it does not automatically qualify as a community match. However, if they choose to leverage their combined donations as a matching gift it would constitute a local match. A matching gift is when a donor or group of donors pledge to match donations made to your organization dollar for dollar.
Is the community match bonus capped at $1,000 per person?
There is no individual donor cap on this year's Knight's Local Match Bonus. For example, if one donor gives a $5,000 community match, we'd count the full $5,000 to determine their bonus award and not just the amount up to the $1,000 individual donor match cap.
Do we have to raise an equal amount of community match in order to receive the bonus? For example, we secured $25,000 in community matches but raised only $15,000.
You would qualify for the $3,000 bonus for raising over $20,000 in local match funds. The bonus is dependent on the amount of community matches secured, not the amount raised for the community match.