The Innovia Foundation + INJF

A Partnership Built to Grow Local Journalism

The Inland Northwest Journalism Foundation (INJF) was created to protect and strengthen ethical local journalism across the Inland Northwest—because informed communities don’t happen by accident. Through grants, scholarships, and educational support, INJF invests in journalists, sustainable newsroom initiatives, and community storytelling that keep democracy healthy and local voices heard.

Inland Northwest Journalism Foundation

To expand that mission for the long haul, INJF has entered into a strategic partnership with Innovia Foundation, the community foundation serving Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Innovia will serve as INJF’s charitable fund administrator, bringing proven philanthropic infrastructure and deep regional trust to support donors and maximize community impact.

The Innovia Foundation will handle the full suite of charitable administration so that INJF can stay focused on journalism outcomes. Innovia’s responsibilities include:

Donor fund management and stewardship

Innovia will receive, manage, and safeguard donor contributions and endowment assets on behalf of INJF, ensuring they are handled with professional oversight and aligned to donor intent.

Innovia’s team will support donors through the giving process—helping individuals, families, and organizations establish funds, make gifts in the way that best fits their goals, and stay connected to the impact their generosity creates.

Innovia will administer INJF grants and scholarships, including application processes, compliance, award distribution, reporting, and recordkeeping. Innovia already manages substantial grant and scholarship programs across the region, giving INJF a reliable, scaled system from day one.

This includes accounting, tax receipting, fund reporting, and philanthropic compliance—making sure INJF operates with clarity, transparency, and best-practice nonprofit financial governance.

In short: Innovia runs the philanthropic engine. INJF drives the mission.

It protects donor intent and increases trust

Community foundations exist to ensure charitable funds are secure, professionally managed, and used exactly the way donors want. Innovia is built for this work and brings decades of credibility in donor stewardship and community impact.

It lets INJF put more resources into journalism

By outsourcing fund administration to experts, INJF can invest more time and dollars into what donors care about: supporting reporters, strengthening local newsrooms, preserving community archives, and preventing news deserts. 

It creates a scalable model for long-term growth

INJF’s goal is not short-term fundraising—it’s permanent, sustainable support for local journalism. Innovia’s charitable infrastructure (fund types, reporting systems, investment management, and scholarship/grant operations) gives INJF a platform designed for growth.

Serving the Full Region, Including Eastern Montana

INJF’s work extends across multiple states. To ensure donors and journalism initiatives in Montana have the same high-quality philanthropic support, Innovia Foundation will work collaboratively with the Whitefish Community Foundation (WCF) and the Montana Community Foundation (MCF).

WCF and MCF are well-positioned to help build and cultivate local giving, administer charitable funds, and support long-term community impact statewide. Through this collaboration, INJF members and donors in Montana will receive seamless local foundation support, aligned with both donor intent and INJF’s journalism mission.

A Shared Commitment to Strong Communities

Innovia’s mission centers on igniting generosity that builds vibrant, sustainable communities throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho. INJF’s mission centers on strengthening ethical local journalism as a cornerstone of democracy. Both organizations believe the same thing:

Communities thrive when people are informed, engaged, and connected to each other.

This partnership makes that belief practical—by pairing INJF’s journalism focus with Innovia’s philanthropic expertise.

What This Means for Donors

When you support INJF through Innovia Foundation, you get:

• Secure, professionally managed charitable funds

• Flexible giving options that fit your goals

• Expert grant and scholarship administration

• Clear reporting and transparency

• Regional support that extends into eastern Montana through MCF collaboration 

Most importantly, your giving fuels real journalism outcomes: stronger local reporting, better civic information, and communities that don’t lose their voice.

Coordinated regional support in Western Montana via the local and regional Community Foundations 

To ensure INJF’s full regional reach is supported, Innovia Foundation will also collaborate with Whitefish Community Foundation, the Montana Community Foundation to serve INJF members, donors and journalism initiatives in Montana, providing seamless fund administration and localized philanthropic support across state lines. 

“The ability to offer donors clarity, confidence and continuity is a big leap forward for INJF,” said Nathan Alford, board vice chair and founding member of INJF. “This partnership gives us the infrastructure to grow responsibly, award more grants and scholarships and keep community journalism strong for the long haul.” 

Anton Kaufer, trustee of INJF, added, “We’re building something meant to last. Partnering with Innovia — and extending that model into Montana through our local and regional Community Foundations — gives INJF the professional backbone we need as our impact expands.”