Arizona Luminaria is a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to truly local news and community-centered journalism.
Our mission. Our promise.
Arizona Luminaria listens, learns and lights a path for people who want local news that’s a resource for action, equality and democracy.
Our communities know Arizona’s news environment is in bad shape. People across our state are living in cities, towns and Indigenous lands where there aren’t enough journalists to shine the light on government and power when it’s not working for the people.
It’s hard to find in-depth, easy-to-understand information dedicated to the issues Arizonans are passionate about. So passionate, that people across the state are searching for new ways to invest in their communities, right wrongs and hold power accountable to the people.
Our values
• We believe in local news that places the needs of people and communities first.
• We believe in local journalism that’s accountable to all Arizonans, especially our most vulnerable communities.
• We value the stories, strengths and struggles of all Arizonans.
• Our grassroots approach to journalism listens, learns, adapts and unites.
Founders
Together, co-founders Irene McKisson, Dianna Náñez and Becky Pallack have more than 50 years of experience in Arizona newsrooms as reporters, editors, mentors, community organizers, business-side experts and digital innovators. This trio is making local news equitable, relevant, helpful, community-centered and accessible for all Arizonans. Email us at info@azluminaria.org and learn more about our team here.
Ethics, equity and standards
We are grateful for the community support that makes AZ Luminaria’s local journalism possible. AZ Luminaria follows the ethics and standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News and the Society of Professional Journalists.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from foundations, individuals, businesses and the community but news decisions are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Read on for more about our donor-transparency policies.
We hold ourselves accountable to the American Society of News Editors’ commitment to achieving racial/ethnic parity so newsrooms accurately and fairly reflect the communities journalism serves.
We are committed to building an equitable, healthy newsroom culture that serves people from all backgrounds and to supporting Vision25, a movement led by the Online News Association, the Maynard Institute and OpenNews to establish a journalism industry where newsrooms are actively anti-racist, collaborative and journalists of color feel like they truly belong.
Funding Transparency
Arizona Luminaria is recognized as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Operating as a public trust means we do not pay certain taxes and we may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits. It also means we are required to be nonpartisan and do not endorse candidates.
Donor policy
We are committed to transparency in our funding model by publicly listing donors who contribute $5,000 or more per year.
Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization and our news judgments and editorial policies are not influenced by donors or other funding sources. Donors do not assign, review or edit content.
As a news nonprofit, we avoid accepting donations from anonymous sources. We will not accept donations from sources who present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.
At the heart of our not-for-profit news organization is commitment to serve our communities and hold the public’s trust paramount to the journalism we publish for all Arizonans.
Political advertising policy
Arizona Luminaria accepts political advertising from candidates, campaigns and advocacy groups, regardless of political party affiliation, for publication on our website. We don’t publish political ads in our newsletter or on our social media channels. Arizona Luminaria does not endorse issues or candidates for political office. Arizona Luminaria reserves the right to refuse a campaign or issue advertisement for any reason.
Political ads must be:
- In alignment with Arizona Luminaria’s mission of promoting civic engagement and civil, informed discourse.
- Affirmative. We don’t accept attack ads, ads that are “against” something or someone, or ads that include the unauthorized use of another person’s likeness.
- Clearly labeled as advertisements. The person or group who paid for the ad must be clearly identified.
For more information, contact Becky Pallack at bpallack@azluminaria.org.
Donors and Founding Members
AZ Luminaria has received contributions of more than $5,000 from the following donors:
We are deeply grateful for the support of our Launch Donors Julie and Matt Harelson who made it possible to start work on building AZ Luminaria as well as the early support of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. We are also supported at this level by:
Local News Initiative of Southern Arizona
Arizona Local News Foundation
ProPublica
Inasmuch Foundation
Data-Driven Reporting Project
Press Forward
Open Campus
Report for America
New Media Ventures with support from the Valiente Action Fund
Fund for Nonprofit News (NewsMatch) at The Miami Foundation
Loud Hound Foundation
Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
Arizona Community Foundation
Emerson Collective and Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Arnold Ventures
International Women’s Media Foundation
Education Writers Association
Puente News Collaborative Project Fund at the El Paso Community Foundation
The Emily and Henry Baldwin Fund at the Chicago Community Foundation
Google News Initiative
HS Lopez Family Foundation
Solutions Journalism Network
Water Desk
The Fund for Investigative Journalism
Burton Family Foundation
The Ira A. Lipman Center at the Columbia University School of Journalism
Marshall Foundation
The Hellene Henrikson Legacy Fund of the Lutheran Church of the Foothills
AZ Luminaria has also received contributions of less than $5,000 from our Seed Funder Circle Members, more than 90 individual Founding Members and sustaining members like you.
