Montana Free Press, a prominent nonprofit news source in Montana, achieved unprecedented fundraising success in 2024, fueled by widespread support from Montana readers and beyond. Through the fifth annual NewsMatch campaign, the organization secured over $203,000 from individual contributors. Overall, MTFP garnered more than $2 million throughout the year from various donors and philanthropic entities to bolster its journalism efforts.
“This fundraising drive proved once again that Montanans, and people who care about Montana, understand how important access to independent local news is,” stated Montana Free Press founder and Executive Director John Adams. “MTFP readers are showing year after year that high-quality local news has value, and that it can be sustained.”
MTFP’s impressive achievement saw them surpassing the $200,000 target, thanks to contributions from more than 2,700 donors in the last two months of 2024. This is the third year in a row that MTFP has set and exceeded ambitious fundraising goals, reflecting a growing commitment to independent journalism in Montana.
“This was again an ambitious goal, but readers across Montana — and even the country — made it clear that there’s a serious need for reliable reporting and they trust our newsroom to be that source,” said MTFP Membership Manager Claire Overholt.
In 2024, MTFP continued expanding coverage with 11 full-time reporters and editors producing over 900 stories. The MTFP Local initiative saw growth, adding reporters Matt Hudson in Great Falls and Katie Fairbanks in Missoula, focusing on local government and community issues. This expansion is set to continue, aiming to cover underserved areas more extensively.
MTFP strengthened its statehouse reporting, a core focus, by appointing Holly Michels as state editor. She will lead the 2025 Legislature coverage. Additionally, Zeke Lloyd joined to coordinate the Voter Priority Project, funded by the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, enhancing public polling and legislative analysis. Data reporting received a boost with Jacob Olness joining to enhance interactive tools and data visualization.
“Our ability to continue to grow to meet the news and information needs of Montanans is a direct result of the contributions Montanans make to this nonprofit news endeavor,” Adams added. “The entire Montana Free Press staff is overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the readers who make this work possible.”
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