To donate to Madison Commons, please visit go.wisc.edu/donatetomadisoncommons
Madison Commons Funding Q/A
Q: How is Madison Commons funded?
A: We have a fluctuating budget of about $25,000-$30,000 a year that comes from a variety of sources. Currently, our sources include the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UW–Madison, Community Shares of Wisconsin, donors and grants.
Q: Who are your individual donors who are contributing more than $5,000?
A: We have many small donors and one major donor – Sharon Stark, a former communication professional, a UW alum and longtime friend to the school. We would love to engage more donors! Please email robinson4@wisc.edu if you think our mission is worthy and you would like to support it.
Q: Can you tell us a bit more about your relationship with Community Shares of Wisconsin?
A: In 2024, we asked to become a member of Community Shares, which serves as an umbrella organization to help 70+ nonprofits raise funds and awareness about various issues related to social and environmental justice. In our talks about membership, it became clear that Community Shares had access to many different organizations doing incredible things in Madison, so we agreed to spotlight these groups – and the people who worked in them – with stories and other content. Community Shares now gives us about $2,500 annually toward supporting the infrastructure of editing and reporting on local nonprofits and the issues they address because this work on our part — using Madison Commons’ platform to boost the efforts and impacts these nonprofits are making — aligns with their mission. While Community Shares gives us the names and contact information of Backyard Heroes — volunteers the organization recognizes for doing amazing work to improve our communities — it has no influence or control over our editorial process, which is kept separate (with editors and reporters) from the money (which the publisher handles). Community Shares works with a public relations and communication firm to market the organization. That said, our relationship with Community Shares is collaborative, and we hope to form more partnerships like this, where we work in community with organizations to amplify stories of struggle and resilience in Madison and Dane County.
Q: What does it mean, though, to work in community with organizations? What about objectivity?
A: At Madison Commons, we believe in the power of collaboration to amplify underrepresented voices and drive meaningful change. Working in community with nonprofit organizations means we engage as partners, not just reporters — sharing knowledge, elevating critical issues and co-creating media that serves the public good. We seek to tell stories that matter, informed by those working on the ground, while maintaining journalistic integrity and independence. We have a professional editing staff that scrutinizes all copy to ensure accuracy, watch for and mitigate conflicts of interest, and avoid polarizing language. Through this approach, we strive to create a more informed, engaged and empowered community where journalists can play a role in moving communities forward. As such, we do not adhere to the type of distanced “objectivity” reporters have historically practiced, deferring to official sources in lieu of connecting deeply with members of marginalized communities, to the detriment of the latter. Rather, our values center on accuracy, balance and challenging problematic social and economic conditions. Our staff and reporters share a keen desire to contribute to and improve the lives of all the people in our communities.
Q: What grants fund the budget?
A: In the past we have had money from J-Lab, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment. Currently, Madison Commons is actively working with two small grants:
- The Morgridge Center for Public Service’s Community-Based Learning Course Development, which is funding a pilot project during Spring and Summer 2025 to create a new course that will partner with local organizations and produce content for Madison Commons.
- The Knapp Bequest Fund, which will fund some work we are doing with the UW Odyssey Project in 2025-2026.
Q: Do you accept anonymous donations?
A: Yes, we accept anonymous donations up to $1,000.
Q: What is your editorial independence policy related to funding?
A: At Madison Commons, our mission is to provide accurate and impactful journalism that serves the public interest. To uphold our credibility and maintain trust with our audience, we adhere to the highest standards of editorial independence. To meet this, Madison Commons maintains full editorial control over all content published on our platform. While we are moving to a model in which, in addition to publishing student reporting on a wide range of topics, we collaborate on our storytelling with local nonprofits, such as Community Shares, UW Odyssey Project and other organizations, our partner organizations have no role in making final editorial decisions. Any content produced by members of these organizations must go through a rigorous editing and review process, and the authors’ involvement with partnering organizations is transparently noted next to the content. We strive to cover issues that impact communities, give voice to underrepresented groups and hold power to account. Our reporting is guided by our ethical responsibility to inform, educate and foster democratic discourse that is also solutions focused. Acceptance of funding does not constitute endorsement of the donor’s views, products or political positions.
Q: What is your corrections policy?
A: Madison Commons is committed to accuracy and accountability, and we are diligent about ensuring stories we publish are correct. We ask reporters to complete a fact-checking process when they report and write a story; our editors also review the content before publication. However, we know that we may make mistakes, and we will correct them in a prompt, transparent way.
If we receive a report about an inaccurate or incorrect piece of information in a story, our editorial leadership team will investigate the issue. The editors will consult with the reporter, review any reporting material to verify the reported inaccuracy and check with sources involved in the story.
If editors determine we have made an error, we will correct the content as soon as possible. The correction, which will be amended to the story, will state the nature of the error and provide the correct information. The editors may also attach a note explaining the correction and reasons for fixing the story.
Editors may make minor style edits or change obvious typos without adding a correction.
