Does your newsroom have a smart or creative approach to generating community support? Enter your work in the Fundraising Strategy category of the 2025 New England Better Newspaper Competition before the final deadline this Friday, November 14!
As philanthropy becomes an increasingly important revenue source for both nonprofit and for-profit news organizations, this category honors the innovative fundraising programs that keep great journalism thriving. Judges will consider originality, scope, revenue impact, and the potential effectiveness of your strategy.
Whether you’ve built a successful donor campaign, developed partnerships with foundations, secured a grant, or launched a new initiative to engage your readers, this is your chance to showcase the sustainability side of your newsroom’s success.
While you’re preparing your entries, don’t miss the opportunity to explore the new categories introduced this year, each designed to recognize the evolving work of New England journalists.
New award categories:
- Social Media Portfolio
- Home & Garden Writing
- Housing News
- Critics Award
- Good News Award
- Protest and Demonstration Coverage
- Immigration Reporting
- 250th Celebration Coverage
Whether you’re an investigative reporter, a feature writer, a student journalist, or part of a newsroom team, there’s a place for your work in this year’s competition. We can’t wait to see the stories, photos, and projects that have made a difference in your communities.
The Better Newspaper Competition remains New England’s largest and most prestigious journalism awards program, honoring the skill, passion, and dedication that fuel outstanding local news coverage across all platforms.
Work published by NENPA member news organizations during the contest year, August 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025, is eligible for this competition.
The competition has three divisions:
- Editorial/Multimedia/
Photography Division – Download Editorial Information Packet - Advertising/Circulation/
Promotion Division – Download Advertising Information Packet - College/University Division – Download College Information Packet
Download the information packets, which include all the information necessary to prepare your entries, including a list of competitive categories, complete rules and guidelines, and the criteria for judging each contest category.
To get started, follow these easy steps:
- Go to www.newspapercontest.com/nenpa to register.
- The portal resets each year, so you’ll need to register even if you entered last year.
- Create a password. (We don’t store last year’s password, so you’ll need to set a new one. You can reuse the same password if you wish.)
- Enter the Association Code: NENPA
Final deadline for entries is Friday, November 14, 2025.
All awards will be presented at the annual New England Newspaper Convention, happening in Spring 2026 (location and dates to be announced soon).
We wish you the very best of luck in this year’s competition! If any questions arise while preparing your entries, please email L.Conway@nenpa.com or T.