Donor and financial transparency policy

Posted Sunday, October 17, 2021 5:50 pm

Updated October 15, 2025

The JOLT News Organization is committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our journalism.

Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects. As a nonprofit organization, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses.

Our news judgments are made independently – not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters opportunities to assign, preview or edit content.

For transparency, and to comply with membership requirements of the Institute for Nonprofit News, we make public all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year.

Please see our Gift Acceptance Policy regarding contributions from political parties, elected officials and candidates seeking public office. We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our board of directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.

Status as a nonprofit entity

The JOLT launched in May 2020 as a division of a local business, Pareto-Curve Marketing, Inc. Over the course of our first year we realized that our public service mission is most aligned with the operations of other nonprofit news organizations around the country.

As of October 1, 2021 The JOLT transitioned our accounts to a new nonprofit entity, The JOLT News Organization, a Washington nonprofit corporation. We filed with the Internal Revenue Service to receive determination as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in November 2022.

From July 12, 2021 until April 15, 2023, The JOLT News Organization operated through a fiscal sponsorship with Thurston Economic Development Council Center for Business & Innovation, a local 501(c)(3) organization with which we are proud to have been affiliated.

The IRS issued its determination letter to us on March 15, 2023 and backdated the "date of exemption" to September 28, 2021, the date we filed articles of incorporation with the State of Washington for The JOLT News Organization.

Our EIN is 87-2868827.

Sponsorship opportunities

If your business, organization, or nonprofit would like to learn more about sponsorship opportunities with The JOLT, please get in touch with Danny Stusser on 360-357-1000 x1 or by email here.